The Assassin's song
by Productive faffer
Summary: When an assassin wants to leave his life behind him, how far would he go to learn the truth about his last contract. Follow him as he unravels his story, past and future, through blood, betrayal and romance.
1. Melody of the gallows

The assassins song.

Chapter one:The melody of the gallows.

Two near silent hoof falls were placed upon the roof top. It was an horrific sight. The whole scene was just depressing; the overcast sky gave the town square an emotionless feel. Add that to the lack of town noises, the bustling crowds, the running and laughter of young colts and fillies, no merchants shouting out there offers of the wares they were selling. The fact that there was little more than the odd hushed sentence here and there, gave an overwhelming sense of emptiness to the ponies and griffons on the street. Even the buildings seemed more,_ gloomy_. They just seemed more grey and dead, as though even they were saddened by today's events. Recently tension had been rising between Equestria and the griffon kingdom, not for the first time the threat of war had been made and this time the griffons were claiming to be serious. Of course nopony took them seriously; Celestia sent an ambassador over there to smooth things over and make relations hospitable once again, alongside saving around fifty pony's lives. However. There were two things wrong with the upcoming parley; one: the supposed ambassador, a cream furred, scarlet mane and tailed stallion by the name of 'Slick talker', was about as interested in over sea's affairs as an owl was interested in the daytime, instead the stallion who was supposed to be cementing relations between the two countries was more interested in lining his coin purse. The second problem was that the griffons were not likely to step out of this particular conflict easily. It was a widely known fact (or un-widely known depending who you asked) that the griffons had, had their eyes on the famous land of pony's for a long time now, and that they were waiting for the smallest of sparks to light the powder keg. And they were about to get it.

Sixty-four ponies. All accused and found guilty of crimes a foal could see they were innocent of committing were about to be strung from the gallows. Sixty-four innocent lives about to be taken all for some twisted show of power against an ambassador who couldn't care less, as long as the bribe went through without hiccup, perhaps the best part of the rather grand event however, was that all these ponies were to be publicly executed. With a small crowd of maybe one-hundred and fifty ponies and a further two-hundred griffons were crowded into the tow square of the griffon kingdom capital and the pony/griffon officials kept from the elements by some covered balcony, ten ponies walked towards the nooses.

The shady figure atop the roof watching the events, with no emotion on his features, stood patiently. His plan was simple, about as simple as the deed to be done, about as simple as his line of work. About as simple as taking a life, because after all, that's what assassins do, isn't it? The plan was not without its faults of course, the main one being the attack on the killers morals, as this particular plan required some necessary evil. He had to let the first group of prisoners die. This was to cause uproar amongst the ponies in the crowd, who were mostly there to see their loved one's back home. The assassin grunted at the irony.

"_These griffons want to set off a powder keg, go through with this and they will" _the stallion thought to himself. The griffons plan was to use this outrage to stir up the nobles and royalty of equestria, pushing them to war, but in the meantime the ponies of the crowd would run riot at the event, most likely pulling down half the city in anger before being contained. The ponies, even though they were smaller and had less physical strength than the griffons would be fuelled by adrenalin and fury, and that was a force to be reckoned with. The assassin mused the idea of the crowd doing his job for him, with the crowd turning on Slick and ripping him limb from limb. Unlikely, a crowd with that much rage would not be able to vent their anger in one direction and would likely just disperse around the town. He was pulled out of his thoughts when the first group of 'criminals' were brought forward, nopony bought it, if only because it's difficult to believe that ponies are capable of any actions outside the law when there below the age of ten. A few gasps ran through the crowd as the foal, an earth pony colt with a sky blue coat and a white mane, trotted up to the centre platform of the gallows. The assassin grunted as he watched him get levitated onto a small crate. He looked so _calm_, like he didn't care his life was about to come to an end, the murderer looked on with admiration at the colts resolve.

Then out of nowhere, like a sudden cold, soothing wind on a hot and dry day, the colt's voice swept through the now silent crowd.

"_On those dark, weary days and those cold, windy nights pray the assassin will watch over your plight" _the colt sung masterfully, his voice slightly high pitched and the tempo perfect. The assassin should know, as he was very familiar with the song. This was the assassin's song, a song sung by mare's to their foals when they when they were scared and needed to know somepony was watching from the shadows, making sure they were safe. The colt stopped his song, however, perhaps from embarrassment, perhaps a loss of courage.

"_With blood on his hooves and death in his heart the assassin will watch over, from the end till the start" _the song was picked up by a navy-blue fur and midnight blue mane and tail stallion, his voice deeper and more masculine than the colt though he kept the same tempo as the foal. The stallion looked over to the colt before they sung the chorus in duet.

"_With blood on his blade, and shrouded in night the assassin will be there, with his ever silent might. From dawn until dusk and from winter till fall year after year he will always stand tall" _a mare with a deep purple fur, and a light grey mane joined into the tune, her voice adding a softer and somewhat more pleasant tone, the kind that would be expected from a mother singing a lullaby to their children, to the song as they continued their melody.

"_With blood on his blade, and shrouded in night the assassin will be there, with his ever silent might. From dawn until dusk and from winter till fall year after year he will always stand tall_

_The assassin will watch over all good colts and mares always listening to there ever hopeful prayers_

_He will always watch over the weak and the poor should you ever cross him he'll give you what for" _the unseen watcher grinned at this line, he had always felt it lightened the tone with the juvenile choice of words when compared to the rest of the lyrics. The rest of the damned, stood upon the gallows joined the song, which had been created to sooth those in times of darkness. It was certainly been tested in that respect.

"_With blood on his blade, and shrouded in night the assassin will be there, with his ever silent might. From dawn until dusk and from winter till fall year after year he will always stand tall" _the joining voices added layers to the song, some better at singing than others, though throughout the song the colt could still be heard.

"_The assassin will be there, so silent and still watching and waiting, for the moment until_

_Those who have wronged you will fall to his blade and never will he rest till the debt has been paid" _the rest of those waiting to be hanging from nooses joined with the final rendition of the chorus, and the effect was…extraordinary… to say the least, as the poem of hope came to a close with a massive symphony of those doomed for the rope singing with enough force to knock Celestia herself to her rear.

"_With blood on his blade, and shrouded in night the assassin will be there, with his ever silent might. From dawn until dusk and from winter till fall year after year he will-"and_ then all too suddenly the lever was pulled and all those lives, those innocent lives were extinguished. Along with the song. Along with the life of a certain corrupt ambassador.

It all happened as planned; the stallions gave a roar of fury, the mares a gasp of horror, the ambassador a grunt of amusement and the assassin; not even a snarl. He leapt from the roof, as graceful as a Pegasus in the sky as he was on the ground; he landed straight on a guard griffon, slamming his fore-hooves into its throat, not killing it but definitely putting down for the count. As fast as a black flash of lightning he launched onto the ambassador, throwing him to his back before slamming his right fore-hoof into another griffon's beak, and breaking the beast's jaw. The assassin looked down at the target, the predator to his prey, the hunter to the hunted. The living to the soon to be dead.

"He will always stand tall" the assassin finished in honour of the dead. He drew his blade allowing the doomed pony see his terrified eyes in its reflection, before he rammed it into his jugular vein as the blood gushed across his features and weapon. The last thought to cross the mind of the pony chocking on his own blood was: _"was it truly this easy to kill me?"_ The assassin grinned at the look of disbelief on the face of his mark. It amused him greatly when his targets where like this, thinking them untouchable before an assassin or killer, such as the one who held a blade through his neck, managed to kill them.

"_Rather easy though, for somepony who was meant to be holding the peace between Equestria and the griffon kingdom together" _the murderous pony observed, looking around himself with a frown on his face that would be more suitable on a pony who had just heard a strange noise before shrugging it off as nothing. This was exactly what this was to the pony. Nothing. Just another day in the office, as far as he as concerned, the main difference hear being that there were several angry looking griffons around him that probably had a thirst for blood that could only be clenched by the vital funds of one particular equine. Said pony jumped over the stone railings of the balcony and into the rioting crowds before the guards caption could even think to say "attack".

The assassin's plan to use the crowd to cover his escape worked well, too well, as the crowds had done what he had predicted and more. Several griffons lay on the ground holding wounds, while the ponies around him fought tooth and hoof to retrieve their loved ones, who were either galloping for their lives or being mourned by their families. The assassin's eyes lingered for a moment at the sight of the dead colt. He made his way down an alleyway, the shadows covering his escape and walked away from the violence and towards the ferries to and from Equestria. Like nothing had happened at all.

**A/N: So yeah, first fanfic. Review, spread the word, tell me what I did good and bad oooor don't. Either way thanks for reading.**

**Productive faffer out. **


	2. Allow me to introduce

Chapter two: Allow me to introduce…

The stallion trotted at a slow and laid back pace, uncaring and un-phased by the dangers that could be lurking in the Everfree forest. Un-countable amounts of beasts and wild creatures watched his every move, as small growls of the timber wolves could be heard alongside the distant roar of manticors. The assassin could care less. He stopped to get his bearings, looking up to watch the stars; he gave a frustrated frown at the lack of light penetrating the thick canopy of trees. After a second he relaxed his body and reached out with his senses, the lack of light made his sight useless but in turn caused him to turn his focus to his hearing, though little could be heard over the sound of the creatures trying and failing to intimidate the assassin. He flared his nostrils taking in a deep breath and taking in the scents of the vicinity; though he didn't pick up any individual smells, the forest leaves and vegetation mixed with the animals unwashed furs and skins merged in the air creating a musk that would cause any not acquainted with the forest to lose their last meal, he did pick up the strong breeze coming his way by recognising the sudden change in the wind. The traveller leapt to the top of a boulder and turned his gaze to the night sky. The wind blew through the trees and parted them, revealing Luna's night and the constellations and moon alike. Part of him hated the night sky, though never the night itself as it would always be his hour, as assassins were almost exclusively nocturnal, but because he had gotten a lot of grief from the princess of the night. If any wondered why her appearances in dreams where a rarity it was because she was busy in his head tormenting him and conducting, as far as he was concerned, some off the books torture via his dreams. Though at the same time he would always appreciate the night a little better than anypony else, after years of gazing up to the sky he had remembered most every single constellation, if only because he had nothing better to do. Also, the occupation of 'murderous outlaw' was not one that was smiled upon by general society so staying incognito was high on his list of priorities and moving around at night was the best way to do this.

The wind brought with it cold air but the assassin was not so foalish as to not come to the infamous forest unprepared, he was never unprepared. The assassin wore four pieces of clothing; this could be considered strange in a land in which ponies went around letting their fur protect them from the elements, with the citizens of Canterlot being the only ponies to regularly where clothes. The assassin's interest in clothing was far from fashion related however; the hood he wore, a deep black with crimson lining and stiches, did marvels to protect his face from prying eyes while the material and colour scheme hid him in the shadows. The vest he wore, a simple black colour with its design being a simple looking shirt with the collar covering the back of the neck, was beaten and torn in places and a large; scar looking stich ran up the left side. The vest was more than a piece of clothing however, as it was made from a rare weave that even the most generous of ponies would squander to themselves, the thread was known as _Robus-_weave, as strong as dragon hide and light as a cloud. The cape he had on his back followed suit in terms of colour and design as the hood, and kept the motley attitude of the vest with the torn and ragged patches across it, that could only come from years of wear and tear. He wore the cloak simply to protect him from the elements and occasionally use as a cover when he found himself sleeping against a tree. The final thing the stallion wore was a simple brown leather belt, which he always kept hidden as using or even wearing leather was considered taboo. What the belt supported however was much more questionable. On the left side a small red silk sash was tied to the belt, tied to the sash was a black scabbard and inside the scabbard was the blade the assassin wielded. The blade was a Japony styled katana, shortened to a short sword by the one whom forged it, so it would be as effective slashing throats as it was in a dual. The guard depicted a dragon eating its tail, an _ouroboros._ The hilt of the sword was laced in red and black leather. On the other side of the pony's belt were three pouches, the one in the centre contained fifteen throwing knives, packed close together so they didn't make a sound when the pony trotted. The upper pouch kept navigational items including; a rusty iron compass he wold use when the clouds covered the sun or the stars were not out (though this was a rather rare occurrence), a small and heavily folded map of Equestria and a small but powerful telescope. The third pouch, situated below the knife pouch, contained medical supplies; a pair of syringes containing a powerful pain killer, bandages and short book on medicinal herbs. A second, stronger gust of wind hit the assassin knocking off his hood though he did nothing to fix it.

He had a menacingly sharp unicorn horn atop his head that ebbed with magic, dark magic that only somepony of his profession would know that when used it created an intimidating and eerie grey glow .The mane on his head was of a somewhat strange colour, it's deep and endless black did not shimmer nor reflect any type of light, but instead it drank in the darkness around him matching its colour to the night. The assassin would always describe his mane as having the 'colour of midnight'. The mane was not particularly well kept either, simply doing as it pleased normally matching the flow of the wind, stretching down his neck and the fringe going slightly over his eyes, in its unkempt and windswept appearance. His tail followed suit, matching the mane colour and fashion. The face and features of the pony were not altogether outstanding or different, not a handsome stallion by any means seeing as a life time of fighting and espionage took its toll on one's complexion. A face with small wrinkles on the brow and a scar running from above the left eye down to the chin would meet anypony that looked at his face. The eyes however were something completely different, however. They never seemed to open completely, always slightly closed as if analysing something or trying to take in everything the world had to offer in terms of visual aid. The blood red irises soaked in every detail, and seemed to bore into any one he looked at, not to mention the pony had a strange habit of looking hard at the pony he was about to speak to making the feel uncomfortable under his gaze, as though they were being interrogated rather than spoken to. Then there was the eyes _other_ feature, something much stranger and much less believable. Something more mysterious and much more dangerous, if it were not used correctly. It was the kind of ability that Celestia herself could not pull off, or at least not as accurately as the dark coloured pony.

A new gust of wind, slightly stronger than the last blew through the forest dancing amongst the trees causing their branches to sway as if waving at its passing. Said wind flowed past the assassin and the cape he wore blew up around him. The rising of the cape revealed the build of an athlete, the kind of physic that other unicorns would never bother with as they tended to spend more time with magic rather that their bodies. The killer's frame held the muscles of somepony who clearly valued movement speed over brute force and strength. He left that to the earth ponies. Instead he had the muscle mass of a lean but strong pony, a champion galloper, perhaps the ground equivalent to the wonderbolts body style. His height made him noticeable, the average pony size being maybe four feet on average, a taller bulkier pony like a farmpony would be around four and a half to five foot and the fully grown alicorn would be coming up to six foot and maybe taller. The assassins stood at four foot, nine at full height, though with the race of unicorn and lack of body mass he looked strangely proportioned for one whose race where genially smaller and less physically powerful, asides of course the royal unicorn guards. The breezy also revealed the stallion's cutie mark, but like the rest of the assassin it was strange and the kind of thing one could not put their hoof on. An ouroboros, much like the one on his blade, adorned his flank with a blade stabbing through the loop it made. Such a design would be considered inexplicable as most cutie marks had to do with the wearer's personality or special talent. It was to do with, you see, his eye's ability. Ask yourself; '_what about a pony is immortal, as an ouroboros represents'. _The two princess's Celestia and Luna are the two only real immortal that everypony knows of and asides from them nopony else is known to have eternal life. So the question remains _'what is immortal about everypony, without exception.'_ The soul. The everlasting force behind the eyes of everything in equestria and beyond, the thing that reflected your true self better than your cutie mark or even words could express. This pony had the ability to see the soul through the eyes of the subject, or victim depending on the circumstances and see exactly who they were… for better or worse. Admittedly this may not be the most useful of powers for an assassin but this was no normal assassin. This assassin was anything but normal, this was an assassin with morals with a code. Something he created on a contract that would change his life.

His first rule of conduct was that he would never kill an innocent, be them a witness and guard or a target that did not deserve to die he would never take the life of an innocent pony. The second rule of conduct was that he never left a job half done, as when he deemed a target worthy of death it was on his reputation and personal pride that the target would die. He knew in his heart that if he had to chase a target to the end of the world, he would. The third rule of conduct was to always ask questions, having been brought up in an environment of lies (a story for another day) he began to doubt and wonder about everything around him. Be it the information of a contact or the tracking down of a mark he _would_ never stop his pondering.

The stallion looked up past the stars to the moon and grinned._ 'Can't be a coincidence, surely' _was the only thing to cross his mind as he looked up to the moon with the red hue, the moon that he was so masterfully named after. The moon that heralded the harvest with its most accepted name of Harvest moon, which was otherwise known as the hunter's moon. That had been appropriately nicknamed _Blood moon._ The name of the stallion that stood below it, the name of the assassin that would not kill unless he judged it necessary. The name of the assassin that was now, once again, trotting through the Everfree forest like he was taking a slow relaxing stroll around a park and was on his way to his next contract.


	3. Not the best welcome

Chapter three: Not the best welcome

The assassin continued his trot through the Everfree forest with the same indifferent attitude, the experienced fighter well in the knowledge that he had faced larger threats over his time. He found his thoughts drifting towards what he was planning to do when this contract was completed, it was a well-established fact that '_the Hunter'_ (a name he had picked up from his first contract that took place on a night with a moon such as this) had been plying his trade, for what was getting onto around a decade now, and had been considering retirement for some time now. He was still in conflict about it now.

"It's been a lucrative few years now" the stallion muttered to himself "but I can't escape the feeling of being slightly jaded now" his thoughts causing him to frown to himself below his hood. It was another well-established fact that most assassins did not live to see the age of thirty, while the assassin in question had been doing his job since he was eighteen and had been working dutifully to his current age of twenty-seven, it was not that he was losing faith in his skills (they would be the last thing he lost faith in) but that he was noticing a decline in challenging contracts. Challenge being his sole motivation, as he knew he had enough bits stashed away to live a life of luxury in Canterlot, he felt that if he were not enjoying his work, why continue it? There were of course those who to argued this way of thinking, claiming 'once in this business, you're in it to the end' but the assassin couldn't make sense of that.

"I'm an infamous and feared assassin" he had told an old associate of similar occupation "why would anypony what to disturb me?" A fair argument in his mind, but it seemed he was the only one to think that way. That was more or less what fuelled him now, his irrational need to prove his peers wrong, show them he could settle down and have a peaceful life.

Snapped from his thoughts by the sudden light up ahead he remembered why he was here. The break in the darkness was down to a clearing up ahead, the beams of light cutting through the darkness like a blade through the damned. _This is my destination; this is the beginning of the end._ The last contact to be faced was in there, the assassin knew this, but as he approached he felt no regret towards his decision to sever all ties to former contacts, nor to his decision to burn down the small hut in the wilderness that had served as his base of operations for around eight years. He felt no twinge of remorse for those he had killed and did not second guess himself at their passing, felling no hint of regret. He did not look back at the contracts he had spent months finishing, because of his second rule, nor at those he had let live because of the first. He had, had a prosperous and long career and did not seek redemption for one of his actions, or want to exchange one minuet for another. He had enjoyed his life but it was time for that chapter to come to a close. _After one last kill _he thought with a small grin forming across he features.

Never one to jump into a situation, however, he took a second to regard the situation now that he had a closer vantage point. He got what he was expecting. Lone ponies, a Pegasus mare, stood in the clearing shivering from cold or fear perhaps both. She wore a saddle-bag and looked anxious to leave, so the assassin approached. He kept to the shadows for a second to get a better look at the mare, that was most likely chosen for three things; her race as a Pegasus, so she could get in and out of the forest quickly; her gender as a mare, so that she would pose as some rich stallions assistant, a power play that the assassin never got, nor was effected by; finally her looks so she would A) seem less hostile to the killer and make the exchange go smoothly (yet another idea of the rich that he never understood, if you're doing business with a killer what would not make them want to kill a pretty mare, also why bother doing business with a murder you didn't trust) and B) to offer some kind of sex appeal that Blood moon could only decide was to try and get some kind of discount for his services.

He stepped from the shadows in front of the mare as to not scare her, little good it did as she squealed like a filly. They stood there for a few moments, the assassin with an air of calm and passiveness, and the mare an air of shock that she was trying to quell. As few moments passed by the assassin got a decent look at the mare, she had a golden coat, a silver fashionably kept mane and tail and a cutie mark depicting a clip-board with a quill making scratches over it. _Secretary, _the assassin thought with hint of hatred towards the mare, as he remembered a contract involving the hit, his body-guard and a secretary, the latter of which turned out to be the body-guard hidden beneath a nice smile and air-head persona, but in fact was a well-trained fighter that gave him a good run for his bits. The assassin was brought from his memories when the mare gave an uncomfortable shuffle of her hooves, which made the assassin want to break the silence.

"I trust you know who I am" the assassin asked. Like many of his ilk the assassin had a very dark and intimidating voice, although it was more or less expected now. Blood moon however was a different story. His voice carried with it a deep sense of foreboding and a certain malice that was matched by few others, coupled by his deep stare that always made the target feel uneasy he made an impression that, unlike other assassins, did not just want to go unremembered, but made them fear the assassins lingering presence in their mind.

"I-I-I do," the now terrified mare responded "I've been instructed to give you this" she continued as she trotted carefully over, as though the stallion before her would strike her down at the slightest move out of place, and placed down a brown envelope and pouch half way between them like she was afraid to come closer.

"The file contains all the information you need, and the pouch has five-hundred bits in it for expenses" the mare explained after backing up and regaining her composure. As she spoke the assassin lifted the file towards him and tested the weight of the bits in his hoof._ Four-hundred more like _he concluded from the weight, but otherwise made no reaction to the things he had been given besides slipping the file between his belt and body and tying the pouch to the same piece of leather. Without another word he turned and left, hearing the mare giving a small insulted 'humph' before giving flight away from the clearing. _'All the luck damned Pegasus' _the disgruntled unicorn thought as he began the trot away. He had been glad that the meeting had not gone on long, he had the ability to be patient of course but he had never been able to stand talking to a contact like that for long before getting what could be amounted as being stir-crazy, paranoid or simply bored. He knew the journey back to civilisation would be long, maybe too long at a trot the problem was that he didn't know this forest well at all so a gallop, annoyingly, was out of the question, which would have cut the four hour journey in half. In the end he went for the longer yet more cautious pace of the trot deciding to increase pace to a canter once the path cleared. An uneventful trip through the Everfree forest was not regular, however and not forty-five minutes into the forest he found something to hold his progress.

_Manticors, Celestia damned manticors. _Said creature was on the path he had taken into the forest most likely trying to follow the scent of the assassin, an easy lunch of a pony in the monsters mind. The assassin dropped down, lowering his body to a smaller target and difficult to spot blob of darkness amidst a generally dark area, effectively making him invisible to the lion bodied, scorpion tailed and dragon winged beast. The assassin moved slowly, taking his time, like he had been taught so long ago keeping to the deep shadows, letting them add to the layers that shielded him from the hunting predator. Luck, it seems, is a vicious and unfriendly element as the manticor looked up, _straight at Blood moon. _One angry, hate filled and extremely hungry roar later, the assassin had a one and a half tonne mountain of a creature charging him at speeds that would impress a Pegasus and was snapping those jaws like it hadn't eaten in weeks. _Probably hasn't _the assassin concluded at the fact that it seemed thin for its size, was acting clumsily in its advance and its maw was dripping droll like a waterfall. The manticor did not meet its target, however, as it found itself chomping on nothing but air and the prey it had been hoping to devour had disappeared, all the while it was processing this the assassin looked down at it from the tree he had leaded up to, standing on the branch he had chosen to observe his attacker from. The manticor had large muscles over its body, dirt on its yellow fur, a blood stained muzzle and claws that looked like they had a lot of experience rending ponies, critters and other manticors alike, limb from limb. The thing that stood out however was its sheer size, a good twelve feet tall, and five foot wide the manticor was most defiantly something that was used to killing. _A killer then, well that's something we have in common _the assassin thought as he drew his sword with a near silent scraping of metal on leather. The manticor, it seems, heard this.

The manticor looked up, gave a deafening and leapt up to the killer, Blood moon dropped going against the normal 'evade' instinct that the manticor was likely used to. As he dropped and got close to his opponent he performed a mid-air buck slamming his rear hooves into the manticor's face adding to the force as he landed on its face. The manticor wailed as it dropped to the ground with an audible _thud_, it raised itself as it growled through its bloody mouth.

"Come on, let's see what you've got the" the killer taunted at the still growling manticor. The Lion/dragon/scorpion lunged at the darkly glad pony. Darting forwards, the killer followed suit and jumped, throwing himself up and over the manticor before landing on the manticor's back as it flailed and roared, trying to dislodge the assassin with a sword, held in a magical grip, aimed at its neck attempted to end this fight with blood. The assassin heard the deep _swoosh _as its tail slashed at Blood moon, twisting his sword in defence he got a push on his guard in return that quickly gave way as the creature he was riding screamed. The killer looked to his left as the end of a scorpion tail landed on the ground and the manticor continued to scream its displeasure, another powerful flail and the assassin jumped from the manticor landing in front of the great beast raising his sword in an offensive manner. The manticor snarled, spat and roared trying to intimidate the assassin to no avail, Blood moon on the other hoof simply stood there reading the manticors instinctive reactions to him and knew it was scared of him. Fed up of this fight he flashed his horn in an illumination spell that was bright and fast, blinding the manticor, leaving Blood moon an opening. Charging forwards he slammed his blade into the manticor's eye; the jelly of the orb gave way, with a sickly _squelch, _pushing through he felt the resistance of the bone of the eye socket but continued through as the bone was crushed and splintered before giving way to the weapon. Blood spat out of the manticor's eye and it reared in pain, the short sword still lodged in its skull but the magical connection between the blade and the unicorn's horn was severed. A massive and panicked paw swiped at the un-expecting Blood moon that was thrown at a tree and slammed savagely off the bark that cracked and fell down around him. With new valour and anger he leapt up against the same tree, jumping off and ramming his hooves into the hilt of the weapon. There was no scream, no roar and no type of reaction to the blow. The blade slips into the creature's brain with the same sickening and blood curdling resistance as the eye. Just a sickening _squelch. _The manticor flopped to the ground, as dead as it was getting, the assassin trotted up to it using his right fore-hoof to yank the weapon out of the new orifice and whipping it to the side, removing the blood that stained it, not for the first time.

"Yet another meets his end" the assassin grinned un-phased by the battle he had just won. To him it was just another on the list, no challenge and yet another reason he wished to retire. If one can defeat a manticor and take no pride in the kill because he felt it was unchallenging, what else can you do to give yourself some kind of actual demanding confrontation? In other words boredom was his greatest enemy, and his current profession was boring him. He didn't allow his thoughts to linger on that though, he had a job to do and to start that he had to get out of this forest.

The rest of his journey went unhindered, much to the killer's surprise, and a few hours of trotting later he found himself in a filed in the middle of nowhere. Having no idea where in Equestria he was, he looked for some kind of land mark but instead came across something much more promising. A pony lying in the grass; a stallion by gender and unicorn by race, the pony had a peacock green coat, and an autumn orange and red mane and tail. As the assassin approached he noticed the cutie mark on his flank; a juvenile looking pig face with speech marks and red exclamation marks around it. The whole image was surrounded by autumn leaves. The assassin looked over to the, what appeared to be a pet, next to the pony and recognized it as a pig. The pig was somewhat small, cute in its own little way and had a- the assassin did a double take, looking closer and hoping he was wrong but it seemed he was right. The small, pig had a leg of ham in its mouth. Not one to lose face, the assassin simply said one word in his dark and sinister voice.

"Civilisation." The peacock pony seemed to shudder slightly at the sound of his voice and the sleeping pig stirred uncomfortably, but the pony on the grass raised his left hoof and pointed to words the horizon behind his head. The assassin followed his gesture and noticed the dim glow, before heading to the source of light he recognized as a settlement of some kind. He knew what he had to do, get there, rest and then start this contract in earnest.

* * *

Ponyville is a quiet place, the kind of place that makes you see what's good in the world. Honesty, loyalty, generosity, laughter, kindness the kind of things that make you feel at peace in the world. The assassin could not help but feel out of place though; the bright colours and happy atmosphere were a direct contrast to the dark and somewhat socially inept pony that trotted in at nine in the morning. Blood moon had taken his time getting here, having found the peacock pony at midnight after his almost day long trek through the Everfree forest. The large abundance of friendly ponies here gave the killer a strange opinion about this place. His first thought was that this place was the future location of his home when he retired, hot on its hooves, however, was doubt and paranoia. _This place is too good to be true, either I've been thrown a bone here or I'm under some kind of hypnotist's spell. _The assassin threw these doubts aside for the time being, and decided to explore the town, more make a mental map while he could.

Getting lost in the town and making note of the land marks in town didn't take too long, as Ponyville was a small town. The town consisted of very few notable buildings; the town hall was the first thing he found, situated at the south of the town; a library inside in a tree, situated towards the middle of the town; a café/cake shop at the east; an apple farm at the southeast; a small cottage at the southeast that was right next to the Everfree forest, that Blood moon swore would be resident of the bravest pony in Ponyville being not fifty yards from the damned place; and a small school house to the west a little way out of the main part of town. It was one in the afternoon by the time the assassin was satisfied with his mental representation of the small town and found himself meandering around a market place, where numerous stalls were set up; a florist, pots and pans, books, vegetables, pies and apples, amongst other things, were sold here. The marketplace was outlined by more permanent stores; a hardware store, a fan store, a jewellers, a café and what appeared to be a shop selling quills and sofas where dotted around the edges of the bazar of sorts. The assassin was drawn towards a shady spot against the hardware store, passing his eyes over the crowds he tried to take in the pony's faces, but instead heard an ear piercing scream that stooped his heart and halted his thinking.

**A/N: If you recognise the guy who gives Blood moon directions, then you've read 'A flash of autumn' written by a friend of mine. If you don't then check it out, it's not bad. Anyways yea new chapter.**

**Productive faffer out.**


	4. Unconventional introductions

Chapter four: Unconventional introductions

Ditzy doo was not, and she knew, the smartest pony in Equestria. In fact many picked on her, ridiculing her for clumsiness that was caused by her eye sight. Yes, her infamous eyes that had pretty much ruined her life…not that it was all that good to begin with. As she flew over Ponyville on her way to deliver more letters and packages to the small town's residents, she started to remember her foalhood and got completely lost in her own little world (as she did rather regularly) she started to fly pretty much blind. Ditzy doo reminisced her parents and early life, her mother White wing and her dad Iron hooves had wanted a perfect little filly in their perfect little lives but were not happy with what they got; the smooth grey fur had been fine to them, following suit of her dad who had a deep black and her mother that had pure white, so having a grey body had been more or less expected; Pegasus was expected to, both had been the same race, pure Cloudsdale Pegasi that were hard headed and proud; blond mane and tail, once again, had been expected as Whit wing had had a light blond mane and tail. The eyes, however, had been less than unwelcome on young Ditzy doo, a strange and almost unheard of condition known as 'fractum oculus nervus' or the eye's broken nerve. Put simply, it put her eyes out of focus in such a way that she could make out the things around her but she couldn't concentrate on anything at all. At first her parents had done all they could to help her, _make me normal _she thought narrowing her eyes in hate. After maybe nine years of surgery, all of it to no avail, her parents finally gave up on her and started on their second foal, like Ditzy doo was just something to replace. Ditzy's little sister, a foal she would come to care for as her own, Dinky hooves was born. With a pale purple coat, a blond mane similar to Ditzy's and a unicorn horn (thanks to White wing's great, second-cousin, once removed…that makes sense right?) She was born with normal eyes and her parents loved her for it but at the same time she loved her big sister and that drew nothing but resentment from her mother and father who had unofficially disowned the unfortunate mare. When Ditzy was eighteen their parents left them, in the middle of the night with no warning or reason, they just up and left leaving the elder of the siblings to care for the younger on her own. The equivalent of an eighteen year old having a seven year old daughter, their only source of income was Ditzy's newly acquired job at Cloudsdale's post office, this however had its own problems as she had never been all that good in school thus she got just as much abuse in her job as she had done in school. In school she had been picked on by most of the Pegasi that had attended the same place, as well as the young flyers school which had undoubtedly the worst of the two. Large stallions would bully and aggravate her and others for no reason but their own amusement. Fluttershy and Rainbowdash had the same problems but Fluttershy had Rainbowdash to stand up for her and Rainbowdash was Rainbowdash, she didn't need somepony to look out for her. Ditzy was by herself though because pretty much everypony felt the same way. _All because of my eyes _she thought with tear welling up at the memory.

That had been the place she had almost spiralled into depression, the mares would point and snigger, the stallions would shout abuse and humiliate her and the foals would follow suit, not talking to her laughing at her and worst of all it rubbed of onto Dinky hooves. The foals were incredibly cruel to her, making fun of the young filly continually, playing pranks and what made Ditzy hurt worse was when she was told by Dinky that they were making fun of their parents abandoning them. It cut them both deep. Ditzy was brought from her thoughts when she slammed into the wall of a building that she could have sworn came from nowhere, as she fell to the floor in a glide that made her look like a leaf that had dropped from a tree. Her head, somewhat used to these hard knocks now, was not very clouded, nor was she panicked at the fact that she had just hit a wall for the second time in forty-eight hours. She was, however, panicked by the two stallions that stood either side of her now; a Pegasus that with a dark brown coat and a white mane, his cutie mark depicting an American football; this was the Pegasus bully, now more or less a thug, named Touchdown. The other stallion; an earth pony, slate grey fur and a steel grey mane and his cutie mark showing a bent metal girder; this one was called Iron arc. The pair's faces turned from confusion to a sinister smile quickly as they registered Ditzy doo's arrival.

"Well, well, well would you look what we got here?" Touchdown said in a dark, creepy and strained voice.

"Huh, what a pleasant surprise" Iron arc added in his deep, slow and dopey voice that was well suited to his uneducated manner. The stallion, who was bested in size only by Big Macintosh, had been hanging around the Pegasus ever since he'd moved to Ponyville (on account of him being bucked out of the young flier's school) and was simple dumb muscle that would follow every order given to him by Touchdown.

"Uh-uh…h-hey guys w-w-what's up?" the scared mare asked as casualty as she could when surrounded by the two ponies that tormented her most.

"Oh, nothing much" the Pegasus replied with a devilish grin "just hangin' around"

"Just hangin' around" the earth pony repeated.

"Oh, OK I'm just g-gonna go then" the mailmare responded, still scared, spreading her wings to fly away from the two stallion bully's. At an unseen command the earth pony grabbed her tail and yanked her down.

"What, you don't wana hang with us?" the stallion spat, full of sudden disgust, at the mare at his hooves. Ditzy looked up at him, something was wrong with him, he seemed to be shaking a little and his eyes were a bit blood shot around the edges.

"No, I-it's not that, just that I've got stuff to deliver" she told him trying and failing to get up on her hooves.

"No you don't" Iron arc laughed ripping off the saddle bag from her side and threw it aside.

"Hey" Ditzy shouted at the removal of her bag, struggling to get free from the grip of Iron arc. Her efforts were rewarded by Touchdown slapping his right fore-hoof across her face.

"Shadup, you little whorse" Touchdown hissed as he grabbed her mane and hauled her up. Then she noticed something, the stallion was shaky yes but that wasn't what got her petrified attention. It was in fact the large erect member between his rear legs. She looked up, tears around her eyes, waiting to break free from their reluctant master.

"Consider yourself lucky you little lazy eyed freak. This is the only action somepony like you would-no should ever get" the evil thug taunted the mare. She tensed slightly as she felt the push against her back that could only be Iron's stallionhood pressing against her.

"W-what are you doing" she squeaked.

"I thought I said to be quiet, looks like I'll just have to take things into my own HOOVES" he laughed as he forced Ditzy's mouth around his member. The Iron shoved his own into Ditzy's sex. The stallions laughed as they raped and Ditzy screamed into Touchdown's stallionhood as tears flowed shamelessly down her face. _This isn't how it's supposed to be, not for my first time _Ditzy thought as she was trusted into from both ends; _I didn't want my first time to be like this _she mentally cried. Iron arc began to thrust more wildly, picking her flank up and holding it aloof as he slammed his stallionhood into his victim's dry vagina.

They both continued to defile her; Iron arc slapped her flank harshly, as Touchdown held both sides of her head as he pumped into her maw harder and faster, all the while coming out with harsh comments. Iron arc thrust deeper into her as he held her up. All the while, she wept, and cried and cursed; all muffled by Touchdown's cock as he continued to abuse her as he did so long ago.

"Damn, Derpy hooves, you aren't as bad as I thought you'd be" the stallion laughed, between groans. _Derpy hooves; I hate that name _she silently cursed. Touchdown had been the first to give her that name, when she had first arrived at the Cloudsdale post office and it seemed to stick, stick so well in fact that some ponies mistake it for her actual name. Her thoughts were interrupted by yet another insult from Touchdown.

"Not bad at all, you could make a living outa this" Touchdown taunted, his insults causing more tears to escape Ditzy's unfocused eyes. Suddenly she felt a bulge, an increase of size in her rear end as Iron arc reached his climax. _No, not in me, please Celestia, not inside me _she wailed in her mind, with the blind hope they could hear her desperate thoughts. Apparently not, however, as she was thrust into one final time as Iron's seed shot into her, coating her reluctant walls with his vile seamen.

"Open wide" Touchdown strained as he followed suit and ejaculated into her mouth, leaving her gasping for breath. _Kill me; kill me now _she thought as she lay there panting and wishing she was never born. She did nothing as she lay there, but as Touchdown picked up a price of sharp glass with his hoof she knew what was about to happen, and part of her welcomed it, another part didn't, another part was not about to let these buckers get away with this or her death, so she screamed; at the top of her lungs she screamed, the kind of scream she hoped everypony would hear and arrive at the scene and see what they had done to her. She hopes they would at least.

* * *

Blood moon was at a loss, Ponyville was a fairly peaceful place, as far as he could tell. On the surface everything seemed fine, but apparently not everything was as it first appeared as he ponded what to do. Nopony else seemed to hear the scream; understandable there was still a lot of noise coming from the market and the scream had been high pitched so it wouldn't carry far. Throwing caution to the wind he decided to investigate, following the sound to an alleyway, what he believed to be its point of origin; and he wasn't all too glad he did.

The alleyway itself was relatively dark, not so much it was hard to see but it put a small shroud over anypony in there making them hard to see from a distance. What was in the alleyway, however, was what truly enraged him.

"_What is this" _he demanded in a voice that would give Celestia herself nightmares. Two stallions turned to face him, shocked and panicked as though caught in the act; one was a Pegasus the other an earth pony, but the red mist had defended over the assassin's eyes and he was willing to make no more of the pair out. What did get his attention however was the mare on the ground, shaking, scared and…the assassin knew what they had done and what they were about to do; he wasn't about to let them get away with it.

"And just, who are you" the Pegasus barked at him trying to be threating. The assassin wasn't hearing it though, as his horn flashed and he was suddenly besides the rapist. _A simple teleportation spell has these fools confused _he thought as he slammed his right fore-hoof into the Pegasus's neck, disorientating him. The assassin proceeded to lung at the earth pony, knocking him of his hooves as the assassin struck him in the face with his left hoof, likely causing a few fireworks to go off in his eyes. Turning to the other one, he blocked a clumsy buck from the brown winged pony before his right hoof found it's mark between his rear legs, causing a pathetic sequel to erupt from his mouth. The killer then looked at the victim of this act and found a grey Pegasus mare shivering in a ball of to the side of the ally, he tried to talk to her but heavy pain on the assassin's back and the sudden ability to fly told him that he had just been bucked in the back by the earth pony. The assassin landed in the street, causing a few mares and stallions to gasp at his sudden appearance as the two attackers followed him out. The assassin wasted no time getting the show back on the road as he darted forwards, spun on his left fore-hoof and bucked the earth pony in the face, breaking more than a few teeth in the proses, not allowing them time to respond he hit the Pegasus in the face with his left hoof, following it up with a right uppercut to his chest and then grabbing his froe-hooves and throwing him over head.

There was now a small circle of ponies surrounding the fight some confused, others enraged at the lone unicorn fighting of the two other ponies, for better or for worse the killer did not know. Standing up again on shaky legs, the Pegasus called into the crowd and not a second later did three other stallions join the fray; all were earth ponies and all looked like they did nothing but go to the gym a lot. The assassin was unimpressed. The first one made his move, a red coated moron that through a strike at the assassin, who dodged under it and slapped his supporting for-hoof out from under him. A second thug, a metallic bronze pony, attacked next, with the big earth pony from before; the bronze pony lunged for him as the big stallion tried for another buck, the assassin slammed his fore-hooves up in perfect timing and the big stallion was thrown up and off balance, just before the bronze pony's face was slammed into the ground by Blood moon's left hoof, which shot down to meet him faster that anypony's eyes could register. The assassin had had enough of this, the third pony to have joined charged him and Blood moon was ready; he grabbed the dark orange pony's chin and mane then twisted savagely, an audible _crack _signified the pony's death as the vertebrae severed the spinal cord and the pony fell limp to the ground as dead as a doornail. _Maybe coffin nail would be more accurate _the dark stallion wondered as he dropped the corpse to the ground.

"One down" he muttered as he eyed the rest of his opponents, some of which were obviously regretting their decision to fight him, now they knew he would kill them without a second thought. The red and bronze pony moved together; the bronze from the front and the red from the back, as Blood moon whipped his sword out and took the advancing bronze pony's head off and a satisfying spurt of blood followed the decapitation, tinting the bronze coat a rustic copper red. Turning to face the other he was met with a truly horrified face, one that wanted to get away but knew that it wouldn't, the assassin hit the red pony in the throat with the hilt of his weapon and watched the stallion choke for a while before stabbing him through the chest, stabbing the left lung and heart in one fatal stab. Ripping the blade out a second fountain of blood erupted like a volcano of gore from the deceased pony. Snapping his gaze over to the big stallion, he let his eyes bore into him before he galloped over to him, cracking his jaw with the pommel of his sword, a strike that lifted the stallion off his fore-hooves, before leaping up and ramming the blade down into the slate grey pony's chest. Holding it there for a second, the killer tore the blade left and right doing as much damage as possible but he knew he had likely punctured both lungs and stabbed down into the intestines, before he yanked the blade of, leaping of the dying stallion, somersaulting backwards and landing gracefully in the centre of the small arena. The assassin slowly, creepily and downright angrily turned his attention to the Pegasus.

"I'll ask you again, what was that?" the assassin demanded, his eyes locked onto the trembling stallion before him blocking out the crowd of equally terrified ponies that surrounded them. Blood moon didn't wait long for an answer, instead he trotted up to him his sword held by his side as he moved towards a stallion who liked to think he was in control, think he was tough, think he was above everypony else. The kind of pony Blood moon hated. Grabbing the stallion from behind, his right leg going under the stallions own and his left yanking his mane back and exposing his jugular to the weapon now pushed against his neck, he was about to finish this and fade into the gathering shadows behind him, before a lone voice in the crowd called out:

"STOP!" The assassin looked over the crowd, looking for the one that had the guts to stop an obviously trained killer in the middle of the act. His eyes settled on a group of six mares; the one who appeared to have called out to him was the one in the centre of the group, a magenta mare with a deep purple mane and tail with a lighter shade of the same colour and hot pink stripes running through. Her eyes were also purple and practically burst with intelligence; that much was apparent at this range, though tears also streamed down her face, which expressed confusion and fear, as she looked at him.

"Why" the assassin asked simply.

"Because-because nopony deserves to be killed" she yelled in response, like it was the most obvious thing on equestria. The assassin cocked his head to the right slightly.

"Really, then would you care to ask him what he was doing in that alleyway over there" Blood moon responded nodding his head in the direction of the place he found the grey mare. The stallion in his grip swallowed.

"I-it doesn't matter what he was doing, y-y-y-you can't kill him" the mare argued.

"I think it does matter" the assassin responded calmly "ask her" he nodded at the grey mare he had found in the alley, how was now in the crowd trying to go unnoticed but the assassin had spotted the…stains on her "ask her what they did, what caused me to slaughter them like the dogs they are." The purple mare turned her gaze to the grey Pegasus.

"What's Derpy got to do with this" a voice in the crowd asked. The assassin took no notice as he looked at the other ponies around the purple unicorn.

To her immediate right was an orange earth pony, her mane blond and put in a simple knot at the end, her tail following suit, her eye, showing honesty and hard labour with small tears escaping, were a light shade of green. This mare also wore a Stetson cowpony hat that she held to her chest. To the unicorns far right a Pegasus, with cyan blue fur and a rainbow coloured mane and tail, flew a meter of the ground held up by her powerful looking wings her light purple eyes holding back tears. The earth pony and Pegasus had the same expressions; confusion, fear and hate. These two were more protective than most of the other ponies in the group. To the immediate left of the purple unicorn, a second unicorn stood this one was pure white and had a highly styled purple mane and tail, her eyes, a sparkling blue, housed generosity and an appreciation for detail. Next to the white unicorn two mares sat; one a pink furred and pink mane and tailed, both of which were completely striate, her eyes a pleasant shade of sky blue had tear's shooting out and arcing down in a spectacular rainbow shaped curve. The pony she comforted was not looking at him instead weeping into the chest of the pink one but from what the assassin could tell she had a light pink mane and butter yellow fur.

"Well Derpy, did they do anything to you" the mare that Blood moon now recognised as 'Derpy' looked at him in panic, it was obvious that she didn't want to say anything about what happened in the alleyway but the assassin had just killed four ponies in broad daylight and this was the only way he could defend himself.

"Tell them mare, this is on nopony's head but theirs" the assassin called over trying to sooth her. Not an easy task when you're holding a struggling stallion as a hostage.

"Th-they did…things to me" she responded in little more than a whisper.

"What 'things' did they do" the unicorn replied, not as shaky as before but still with tears rolling down her face. The assassin could tell by her tone of voice, body language and the way she was glancing at his hostage that she was begging to doubt what she had thought before but was still unwilling to be swayed.

"Things I'd rather not repeat" Derpy replied, she was clearly traumatised by what had happened and Blood moon felt for her.

"Now jus' wait a minute, sugarcube are ya'll sayin' that ya" she clears her throat nervously "did the 'hoedown' in that there alleyway" she asks, a little unbelieving. The assassin noticed the orange pony's heavy southern drawl.

"YES, THEY RAPED AND ABUSED ME LIKE SOME PIECE OF MEAT, THEN TRIED TO KILL ME!" The mare was, clearly getting emotional as she gulped and chocked back the tears threating to spill down her face. Everypony in the crowd gasped, almost perfectly in unison while the purple mare looked back at the assassin and his hostage.

"So you killed them defending her that was-no, no you should have let the guards deal with it." At the mention of guards Blood moon got a little irate at the mention of guards.

"And what would happen, they would be detained and put on trial, yes. There they would be charged with the rape and murder of a certain grey Pegasus, in which they would have plenty of evidence and a witness report supplied by myself. Now it's very likely that they would be found guilty of this crime, tell me miss, what is the punishment for rape and murder" the assassin asked with a knowing smile on his face that was mostly covered by his hood.

"They would be executed" the mare replied hanging her head in defeat "but what gives you the right to take justice into your own hooves" she shot at him. The assassin gave a deep slow laugh in return.

"You want justice mare?" She stood a little straighter.

"Everypony deserves justice" she told him, somewhat nobly. The assassin shrugged.

"Very well then" he said releasing the stallion, letting him drop to the floor "justice for all" he told her before he stabbed his blade through the stallion's head, cracking through the cranium, piecing the brain, stabbing into the lower jaw and out the other end. A monumental rush of blood shot out of both freshly made wounds as the assassin ripped the sword out in a brutal fashion, the arc of the weapon making a curve of blood to fly into the air and splatted the ground in front of him, while the fountain of vital fluids continued to erupt skywards. Several ponies gasped once more and judging by the _thuds _hearda bunch more fainting. The magenta mare had fresh tears streaming down her face and in much greater abundance.

"How-how could you" she sniffled. Staring her down the assassin started fade into darkness as his horn began to glow as he became part of the shadows around him, cast by Celestia's sun.

"Simple, by doing what's right" he replied as he vanished from sight.

**A/N: So this chapters a doozy, and I want ya'll to know it was hard trying to put down Ditzy being raped, though she's not my favourite pony(one dose not simply have a 'favourite' pony) I still like her and IT IS NESSERCARY TO THE PLOTLINE, not just me getting weird... again. And that my AJ accent sucks so if anypony/body has any pointers it would be much appreciated.**

**Productive faffer out.**


	5. Darkened harmony

Chapter five: Darkened harmony

Twilight sparkle was at a loss. This stallion, who was likely relatively new as she knew pretty much everypony in Ponyville, had just trotted in and-and. She didn't want to come to terms with it, didn't want to have to accept what she had just witnessed but she knew it was real, that there was no denying that five stallions had just been murdered in front of her and they were still lying there. Unmoving, not breathing, there blood on the ground and just _dead._

"He-he slaughtered them" Rainbowdash said, tears flowing down her face which was a rare sight indeed. Twilight just nodded, not able to take her eyes off the scene in front of her, right when she thought she was getting through to him he-he. The last few moments of his presence played through her mind, he dropped stallion down like he was going to spare him, then he did-what he did. The thing she couldn't understand was why he did it. She looked over at Derpy hooves and watched her intently, trying to read her expression but couldn't get anything from it, she just seemed blank (except for those wacked out eyes). She trotted over to her.

"Derpy ar-"

"Ditzy."

"What?"

"My name is Ditzy doo not Derpy hooves" the grey Pegasus told the purple unicorn, she had none of her cute clumsiness in her voice nor any of her youthful and joyful sprit.

"Oh ok, I'm sorry but that's not why I'm here" Twilight responded genuinely surprised; she had always thought her name had been Derpy hooves considering that was what pretty much everypony in Ponyville called her.

"I know" she responded in a deadpan tone, her mane casting a shadow over her eyes "and before you ask, yes what I said happened, happened" she told the unicorn. Twilight cast her gaze down, not finding the strength to look at the grey Pegasus.

"I'm-I'm sorry but I have to ask" she took a steadying breath "do you know that stallion" Twilight had to know who that pony was, had to find out what such a murderous stallion was doing out in Ponyville. Better yet what he was doing outside the Canterlot prisons.

"I don't but I'm going to find him and thank him."

"Thank-thank him, what do you mean by that."

"I mean what I say Twilight, that stallion you probably call murderer I call saviour, I know you don't what to admit it but he helped me when I was in trouble."

"I don't have a problem with him helping you. What I do have a problem with is how he did it, killing those stallions was not the way to go about it" Twilight argued, not wanting to admit that the stallion was in the right at all.

"What would you have done" Ditzy snapped looking Twilight directly in the eye, so she could see the tears threatening to spill, though they weren't there because of pity or remorse to the now dead but the fact that she was stood in the middle of a group of ponies that knew she had just been…used "love and tolerate them for what they did to me" the grey Pegasus spat before she flew off.

"Ditzy please, wait" too late, the Pegasus flew had already left.

"The poor dear, I-I take it that it's true, what she said" Rarity asked from besides Twilight, who sighed and hung her head in defeat.

"She had no reason to lie, besides didn't you see her…flank" the unicorn replied, giving a small shudder as she remembered the stains on her rear end and tail.

"So, um, what are ya'll gonna do, y' know with the bodies" Applejack asked a little scared of the corpses and blood on the ground.

"I don't know, we'll let the guards deal with it but we have to find out what happened to that stallion" Twilight announced.

"WHAT" Rarity exclaimed, losing her lady like mannerism for a second.

"Hold up there sugarcube, why are we goin' after 'im. Didn't ya'll just say to let the guards handle it" Applejack asked with as much panic in her voice as Rarity.

"I really hope I heard wrong, 'cause I think I just heard you talkin' about trying to find that-that assassin" Rainbowdash butted into the convocation.

"Yes, Rainbowdash you did, because that's what we're going to do" Twilight told her, new vigour in her voice.

"Well Twilight, Applejack's question still stands. Why not let the guards deal with this" Rarity pressed.

"I-I don't know why I just, just don't feel right letting them deal with this" Twilight wasn't lying, she felt a strange presence about the stallion, something she couldn't put her hoof on but one thing was for sure it definitely troubled her "besides; together we defeated Nightmare moon, Discord, King sombra and Queen Chrysalis, what's one stallion with a sword and some training."

"I'm sorry darling but I just don't think the elements of harmony would work against…that kind of pony, if you can call him that" Rarity told her solemnly.

"She's got a point there, sugarcube; ah don't like that feller one bit, we should leave this to the professionals" Applejack admitted.

"I'm with Rarity on this one Twilight that guy looks like he's out of even MY league" Rainbowdash agreed, though not sparing them the boast. Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing; Applejack the pony everypony could always count on and Rainbowdash, whose loyalty to Ponyville is what literally made her who she is.

"So your just gonna trot away from this" she asked unbelieving, her mouth agape "after everything we've all been through your letting a stallion with a creepy voice get to you."

"No, nothing like that we just…uhhh" Rainbowdash couldn't finish her sentence and Twilight knew she'd hit a soft spot, Rainbowdash portrayed herself as brave and heroic, she was also the kind to rush headlong into trouble without second thought be it through stubbornness, pride or the need to protect her friends. Twilight didn't want any of her friends to do anything foolish or dangerous but she knew that she couldn't do this without them.

"Ah think what Rainbow's trying to say here, is that ya'll shouldn't be takin' all a' Ponyville's problems on yourself, its jus' not necessary to be dealin' with this yourself Twilight" Applejack told her in a caring fashion. It was no secret that Applejack was more protective of the group of friends, and that she wasn't about to let Twilight rush off into anything stupid, not without telling her some wise words first anyway. Twilight suddenly noticed something, sat behind three of her best friends, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy sat still weeping. Rarity, Rainbowdash and Applejack followed their friend's gaze and saw the depressing site.

"We've got to give them some kind of closure with this, we can't just let this be their only memories of this" Twilight told them, her voice sad as she looked over at the two ponies. Her friends seemed to agree. Pinkie Pie sat, holding Fluttershy in her fore-hooves cradling the sensitive pony that was crying uncontrollable into her chest; Pinkie's hair had its unnaturally straight look to it that only happened when she was sad or not thinking straight, her eyes had a steady flow of tear flowing from them as they continued to stare at the battlefield in a horrified manner. Fluttershy seemed worst for it; she had seen the bronze stallion's head being take off and would most likely be most affected by this as she had never been involved in anything violent in her life, nor had she ever been overly fond of blood.

"Y-your right Twi, we can't be letting him get away with this, not afta' what it's done to ah friends" Applejack conceded "but ah gotta know, why won't you let the guards deal with this."

"Well, think about it, he's obviously got combat experience and he's killed before. I get the feeling that guardponys just won't be able to deal with this" Twilight admitted. She always had faith in her big brother's guards but no matter how good they were they didn't stand a chance against what she had just witnessed.

"Alright fair 'nuff" Applejack submitted, relaxing her neck in a defeated fashion "but what a' we gonna do in the mean time?"

"We have to get Fluttershy away from here, get her away from all of this" Pinkie Pie spoke up for the first time in a while, her voice deadpan and as void as emotion as her mane "can we please just go" the pink party pony pleaded in an out of character fashion.

"Yeah, come on girls let's get out of here" Twilight agreed. If she were honest she would say she was feeling about the same as Fluttershy right now but felt she had to stay strong for all their sakes. The purple unicorn looked around, many of the ponies had left either to cry to themselves or fetch one of the few guards that patrolled Ponyville. Some stallions and mares went to the bodies and started to wail louder _they must be their parents or something _Twilight concluded; as she watched the stallions try to pry away the mares that were hugging the corpses, before three golden armour clad guard ponies arrived at the scene. One of them, a light grey earth pony, immediately threw up when he saw the dead stallions. Twilight pitied him, he looked young and new to the guard profession but she had to look after her friends first, so with Applejack carrying a still crying Fluttershy on her back and Rainbowdash with a wing over Pinkie Pie, whispering something that seemed to be cheering her up, indicated by her small giggles (Twilight had no idea how the rainbow coloured mare managed to do it but it probably had something to do with pranks or cupcakes). The six elements of harmony made their way to Twilights home. Inwardly Twilight was dreading her return to the golden oaks library, as she knew she would have to explain today's events to Spike and she knew there was no getting out of it, all's he would have to do is look at the tear streaks going down all their faces.

* * *

The library seemed eerily quiet as the six mares returned, Twilight leading the way. Pinkie Pie's mane seemed to have regained its 'poof' and she seemed to be able to smile again, albeit a little weakly. Fluttershy, impossibly, also seemed to be doing ok again once they got to the library within the tree. Spike was busy cleaning and Twilight was glad for it, she didn't want to tell him about today until necessary.

"So, we want to track this guy down right" Rainbowdash said as they all sat in a circle in the middle of the library.

"An' jus' how do we go about doin' that, ya'll saw the way he left, that stallion is as sneaky as a snake in tall grass" Applejack remarked as Twilight Sparkle was looking through a small portion of the library. The segment Twilight was searching was home to dark, thick and heavily bound books, which were obviously about something dark and ominous that gave the purple pony the same sensation as when she had seen and used King Sombra's black magic; an eerie presence at the back of her mind, like there was a shadowy figure just in the shadows and just out of sight. Just like the sensation the memory of the hooded stallion gave her.

"What are you looking for Twilight" Rarity asked from the circle mares, as she watched the bookish unicorn levitate books from here and there in the library.

"I'm looking for a book" she replies bluntly.

"Well duh, which one" Rainbowdash sighs as she flies over to were Twilight is stood, levitating books in front of her, reading the title and throwing them away impatiently.

"It's a book about really old magic, magic that was supposedly banned outside of academic study since just after the banishment of Nightmare moon" Twilight explains as she continues to go through her books feeling she is getting closer.

"What type of magic are we talkin' about here Twi, I still don't get what that stallion did when he got away" Rainbow asks, having now flown up to the higher shelves to find something, not having an idea what it was.

"I think it was called…" Twilight paused hitting her head with her hoof a few times trying to recall something she had glanced over once in her studies "shadow magic, yeah that was it, shadow magic" she tells them looking over books with greater speed, now that she had a better idea what she was looking for.

"Found it" Pinkie Pie cries out from under a small pile of books. Twilight turns her head so quickly she nearly pulls something.

"What" she yells astounded at the party pony's ability to find things "let me see" she says already lifting the book over to her with her magic.

"Lostnocturnalmagicvolumethreechapterthirteenpageo ne-thousandandthirty-threetoone-thousandandforty-n ine" she told Twilight who was now flicking through the book, astounded once again at the pink pony's ability to speak so fast, to said page.

"Pinkie Pie, I'm pretty sure I'm going to regret this but, how did you do that" Twilight asks bracing for a massively long-winded answer.

"Oh that, I saw the page as it flew past me when you threw it in to the pile when you were done with it" she told Twilight while wearing an overly large grin. Twilight simply blinked at her before shaking her head a few times to rid herself of the thought _just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie_ she thought to herself looking back over the book she held, now at the correct page.

"Here it is" she paused as she read a few passages, before her eyes bulged slightly as she got to grips with some of the finer points of the very advanced magic. Her friends noticed the look on her face and looked between each other in worry, they all saw Twilight as the resident expert of magic in Ponyville and to see her apparently impressed, worried or confused was always cause for concern when it came to magic.

"W-what is it Twilight" Rarity asked somewhat timidly, sensing the panic emitting from Twilight.

"I-it's nothing just, this is some pretty advanced stuff" she read a little more of the page before looking up and addressing all of her concerned looking friends, she took a deep breath before continuing.

"It's called '_Umbra Linguam' _or shadow language. It involves 'the control of shadows to ones will, in a fashion that uses at set of four simple words such as; walk, attack, hide, defend, see, hear or learn'" she told the quoting the book directly "I-I've never heard of magic like this" she told them her eyes narrowed in thought.

"Shadow magic, like King Sombra" Applejack asked rubbing her chin in thought.

"Yes...no…kind of, King Sombra was an exceptionally powerful uhhh" she consults the book, her eyes moving back and forth over the page before looking back up "_shadow speaker_" the words seem to hang in the air in an eerie fashion as a cold wind blows through the library before she continued "but I don't think he was using the same magic as the stallion we're dealing with."

"So this guy can use shadow magic then" Rainbowdash summarized "so how does this help us again?"

"Well did you see the way he escaped, like the shadows latched onto him and he…became them. So now that we know what he can do, we also know what he can't do" she tells them triumphantly.

"Which is" Rainbowdash urges as she leans in.

"Well, the book says that although the magic is powerful and advanced, it does have its disadvantages; the first being that only four types of magic can be used because only four words can be learned, the power of the spell depends on the ability of the caster like most other magic and it has to be directly related to the word. For example; if the pony had the word _walk _in their…uhhh, the book calls it an 'umbra vocabulary' then they would be able to move as a shadow" Twilight explained as she trotted back and forth "the second weakness is that for the spell to be at full power then there needs to be shadows around the caster, the book says that this can be countered by having 'shadow' in the pony's vocabulary but, obviously, this uses up one of the words available. Normally all of these speaker would have a simple spell that would help them learn that consists of their shadow reaching out a few meters, this helps them practice without using up a word as well as allowing them to make their spells stronger when there not right next to shad-" Twilight's head suddenly snapped up and her gaze met the book for a moment before she lunged at it and tears it open, causing her friends to gasp in a startled fashion, as she read the book, gripping the book violently in her fore-hooves as she looked over the page. When she was done she raised her head, her eyes lingering on the book and her face a strange mix of relief and confusion.

"Wh-what is it Twilight" Fluttershy squeaked from beneath her mane.

"I-it's this thing about the absence of shadow; it also says that the casters shadow must be distinguishable from the shadow their drawing power from."

"Sooo, what does that mean" Rainbowdash inquired.

"Well the book doesn't go into much detail about it but from what I can tell it works something like this; if the unicorn casting the spell is covered in shadow, say by the shade of a large building, the spell wouldn't work. The only reason it gives is that the shadows powering it causes it to 'short circuit' due to the amount of power being pumped into it directly the spell."

"So…what, that means we have to over load this guy with shadows by fighting him in the shade of sugarcube corner" Rainbowdash put together with a slight 'are you kidding me' look on her face.

"No" Twilight said to herself more than to the ponies in audience "but what it does mean is that" she paused as if figuring something out, looking over the results, figuring it out again and checking again to be sure, before looking up at the five mares in realisation "all's we have to do is find him at night, that way he won't be able to use his most powerful available magic" she smiled, now more confident about the inevitable confrontation.

"Now wait ah minute sugarcube, how does that work, when its night time shadows are everywhere at night, ya'll should know bein' up all ah the time" Applejack counters.

"Exactly, if the shadows are everywhere then the stallions shadows can't be told apart from the other shadows, so he won't be able to cast his spells" Twilight tells Applejack, who shakes her head as though the unicorn is not understanding her.

"No, what ah mean is that I've seen many a night when I can my shadow when its cast by the moonlight, don't that mean he can use his magic still" Applejack clarifies. The earth pony knew she was no expert in the art of magic but she knew day and night well enough that she knew how shadows worked at different times of day. Twilight had opened her mouth and raised her hoof in argument but nothing came out, she looked back at the book in vain to try and get some more answers from it but all's she got was a few users of this type of magic. Twilight frowned in confusion; most spells known to unicorns were created by Starswirl the bearded or either of the princesses and were all supposed to capable of being learned by anypony. Having a list, a short list at that, told the unicorn that this was more complicated than she first thought. She noticed that the names had small sketches next to them, when she got to one in particular her eyes widened.

"Uhhh girls, come look at this" she tells her friends as she turns the book to the advancing mares. Twilight sees the recognition in her friend's faces, as well as their reactions; Rainbowdash and Applejack look at each other in confusion; Rarity's face is drawn back from the page in fear, Pinkie Pie's face loses its immense grin as she recognises the face looking back and Fluttershy nearly faints. The page held an image of a stallion, his hood casting a shadow over most of his features, even in the sketch, but the eyes that peered from beneath the shroud were unmistakeable. Twilight recognised the 'flash sketch' spell; a spell that produced an image of the target in a similar fashion of the camera, the main difference being that the spell came out looking like an actual drawing when the device looked like an exact replica of the desired scene. Spell or technology aside, the image was quickly recognised by the six mares. From the menacing eyes to the scar on his face it was clear who this pony was without the name besides it, written in sharp and jagged letters that somehow had the ability to be intimidating and scary. _Blood moon._

As he was about eleven-thousand years ago.


	6. The friends we make

Chapter six: The friends we make

Blood moon galloped. Getting away from the battle had been simple, with the easy use of the_ Umbra Linguam _spell 'hide' he knew what the ponies in the crowd would have seen: the shadows creeping up his person, like a drop of water moving up the leg, becoming a shade of unnaturally dark black; _the colour of midnight_ or the shade of shadow, a colour that was not supposed to be worn by the ponies of equestria. The spell was similar to the spell 'walk' but where walk was a spell that caused the caster to be able to traverse the environment as their silhouette; one of the few spells that did not need shadows to work effectively as in this particular spell would be cancelled should the caster move into deep shade were their own could not be seen, the hide spell, on the other hoof, was quite the opposite; it allowed the unicorn that used the spell to be able to literally become 'one with the shadows' as they hide and obscured the pony from the view of others and allowed them to move within the gloom. The assassin had used his spell to get away from the mass of ponies and then taken to the side streets and back alleys, trying to find a place to rest.

For two hours the stallion had moved, not risking a pause, all the while looking over his shoulder. The assassin had been foolish; he did not regret helping the mare but wished he knew more about this small town, Ponyville not being a place that assassins roamed to any great degree, he wished he had a better idea of these back streets, wished he had an idea how many guards patrolled the roads and protected the buildings. The darkly clad pony narrowed his eyes in frustration as he continued to move, now at a canter rather than a gallop, as he knew the streets of a larger town such as Manehatten much more effectively; the assassin knew he would be able to traverse the streets, roofs and even the insides of some of the buildings with his eyes closed. But this blasted town; he didn't know where to find a simple dark corner or-. The assassin halted his pace and looked slowly to his left with a slightly disgruntled look on his face _Luna be damned, I hate it when fate dose this to me _the killer thought to himself as he looked at the quiet and removed bar that looked at him. Blood moon knew that if buildings were ponies then this one would be leaning back with a smug look on its face. The small looking tavern was honest and quaint, the walls made up of light brown planks, the windows had brick around them and the roof was made of thatching. The pub was called 'the hoof and anvil' the bars sign being an iron hoof suspended in a 'U' shape with the stereotypical anvil shape held inside it.

Trotting through the door of iron, the assassin looked around and found that the inside was much the same as the outside; the same wooden planks that made up the walls made up the floors, the bar was a deep brown oak, dulled silver nozzle scattered along the length of it and bar stools up against it. The place did have a strange feel to it however; for the most part it was your average, friendly boozer, with pleasant looking ponies (who seemed oblivious to the events of the market place) sat around drinking cider and wine. These ponies held the middle of the bar, wooden tables with one to four wooden chairs or piles of hay around them, the walls, red cushion sofas that were slightly battered and un-kept that had long tables between them in a booth like style, and the bar, simple iron stools that leaned against the place drinks were distributed. The corners, however, belonged to the shadier of the patrons and this is where Blood moon sat, a strong, spicy and hard cider in a metal tankard in his hoof as he looked around the pub, getting to know the patrons. The corners were infinitely more interesting, the place that Blood moon himself sat was a dark and slightly damp spot where little light would reach, blending into the background seamlessly but then, if he could not remain unnoticed in a dark corner, he had been in the wrong job throughout most of his life. The other three corners belonged to ponies of similar dubious qualities; in the corner across the room, an orange fur and black mane and tailed stallion sat, eyeing the crowd. _Some kind of thug _the assassin concluded from the broken snout and mean look on his face. The corner to his left held a group of ponies; a pair of stallions, one of dirty cream fur and sky blue mane and tail, the other of brown and slightly dirty fur and an equally dirty bronze mane and tail. The others around that table were mares; around four of them, all seemed to be the marefriends of these 'gangsters' but looked a little uncomfortable. The assassin grew less interested with this group; they seemed to be discussing how to move bootleg cider out of Baltimare, instead he looked over the rest of the bar until his eyes fount something that caught his attention. At the corner to his left, the corner closest to the bar, a stallion with dark yellow, mustard if you will, fur sat, a black beanie on his head and a black mane peeking out the back in a short ponytail. This stallion had an eye patch on his left eye and three scars going along his features, going from his left ear, across his left eye (no doubt that was what caused him to lose it) and slashing over his mouth. His remaining eye had the colour of smoke about it, a very deep grey that was capable of matching Blood moon's eye for intimidation and its deep stare. The stallion had a pair of powerful wings on his back, the same colour as his body; they seem to be damaged slightly and seemed to be missing feathers here and there but remained looking strong. The stallion's cutie mark was a scimitar's silhouette against a setting sun. The same weapon was strapped to his back. The whole image; weapon, scars, muscled physic, hard eyes and cutie mark said one thing to the assassin. _Mercenary. _The soldier of fortune looked over the bar, much the same way the assassin had done, and saw the killer looking at him. The merc spotted a fellow fighter and nodded, in doing so giving the assassin a brief look into his eye; bloodshed, loss, a desire for vengeance and loyalty spoke to the assassin and he put the picture together; _his family was killed when he was on duty in the equestrian army, when he got back he was at a loss in the world and went back to the forces, there his anger took over and he was dishonourably discharged before he became a mercenary _the assassin figured as he continued to gaze at the merc. He knew this stallion had blood on his hooves but he seemed descent, didn't kill anypony he wasn't ordered to kill and no mares or foals so he didn't want to kill him despite him not having a very well-looked upon form of work. The ex-soldier stood and trotted for the exit as the thug in the corner, who had been apparently watching him, intercepted him.

"Problem colt" the older stallion asked the thug.

"Just one, you see a few friends of mine have just been cut down by some new stallion, so I figure; _well I ain't seen this guy before and he's got a sword, maybe he know something about it, _well how 'bout it, got something to tell me" the thug asks the old mercenary, obviously accusing the stallion for the death of the ponies that Blood moon most likely killed. He doesn't get an answer just one of Blood moon's throwing knifes in his left fore-hoof. The assassin wasn't about to let something he did come off on another pony, experienced fighter or not, it just wouldn't sit right in his stomach. Everypony in the bar looks over at the new assailant with mixed expressions, none of which are taken in by the stallion stood in a hood and cloak with a blade in his magical grip.

"I believe you're looking for me" Blood moon calls over, his voice sending shivers down the spine of everypony but himself and the mustard merc. The stallion shifts a little.

"What do you mean, I'm looking for you" the thug replies as he pulls the blade out of his leg with his right fore-hoof.

"I think, son, he means he is the one that killed your little friends" the merc explains in his strained voice "not myself." The stallion looked between the older and younger killers before realising he was out matched, dropping the knife to the ground he gallops out of the bar. Both armed stallions look at each other in understanding and quickly follow suit.

"You sure that was a good idea, colt" the merc asks the assassin as they trot quickly away from the bar.

"Not really, but I wasn't about to let you take credit for five rather spectacular kills that I caused" the assassin replies glancing over his shoulder. They both laugh at the remark briefly.

"Kid, do I know you" the merc asks as they stop in a secluded alleyway, to talk more freely.

"Depends, do I know you" Blood moon replies, lowering his head so the hood obscures more of his face. The merc grunts.

"I'm called Sand Stalker, blade for hire extraordinaire; I deal in open combat, espionage and aerial combat, native to Saddle Arabia." He tells the assassin readily, like he can trust Blood moon.

"You gave that up easily" the assassin comments.

"I'd recognise somepony on the wrong side of the law any day, colt, I know your about as honest as a con-stallion when it comes to your work" Sand Stalker retorts in a flat manner. The assassin shrugs before he speaks.

"Well you've got me there, I'm Blood moon assassin for hire these last ten years. I'm sure you've heard of me" the killer tells an impressed looking mercenary.

"I'll be. You're the hunter aren't you" Sand Stalker says a little shocked he is now stood face to face with what amounts to a living legend.

"I am, now listen, is there anything an old-hoof such as you can tell me about Ponyville" the assassin asks the elderly fighter, always looking for information. Blood moon wasn't looking for contacts here but he felt that knowing the more important points of this place that had never really held much of his interest would be useful. The mercenary looks down in thought for a second before looking back at Blood moon.

"Only this: look out for these six mares; Twilight sparkle, Applejack, Rainbowdash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity. They sort of protect this place between them, also, you should know-"

"Excuse me" a small voice interrupts, it sounds innocent and, somehow, a little cute and clumsy, like its owner is accident prone. The two stallions turn to find a grey Pegasus mare that only one of them recognises. Blood moon looked at the Pegasus; his well-trained eyes picking out that she didn't seem to be looking at them directly, for whatever reason, her eyes not fully open, she seemed to be having trouble breathing like she was out of breath, her body seemed loose as if she was feeling defeated or relived; his well-trained ears hearing the deep breaths that were laced with sorrow and, much the way she held herself, relief; but it was his fine nose that picked up her smell, the scent of unwashed sex. The assassin gritted his teeth slightly as he remembered the way he found the mare.

"We'll continue this later Sand Stalker, I'll find you back at the bar" the assassin told the mercenary, that he now considered being trust worthy and perhaps a friend in a town that now hated his guts.

"Alright friend, I'll see you" the old stallion replied, obviously noting the shift in the wind between the two. It was likely he noticed the smell clinging to her stubbornly. The Pegasus and unicorn watched the mercenary trot away from them, in the direction of the town market, before they turned to each other. The assassin breathed deeply through his snout before he spoke up.

"Follow me" he told the mare. Ditzy doo complied as she trotted behind him. Unbeknownst to the mailmare the pair were moving through the streets not passing anypony due to the efforts of the stallion leading the way, not wishing to meet into anypony that may have witnessed or heard of the events in the market and hoof the stallion and mare that was with him over to the guards. Blood moon lead the mare towards a stream to the south, when they arrived, after what should have been fifteen minutes of trotting made half an hour longer by the assassin's detours, the assassin looked over to the mare with a concerned look on his face.

"Let's get you cleaned up" he told the mare nodding at the stains that still adorned her flank. Ditzy doo looked back at herself before looking back to the stallion and nodding. She didn't say but she was confused and grateful, this stallion had just met her and he was already looking out for her and with no reason either; it made her feel nice, like she was finally being accepted by somepony. The mare put her hoof in the flowing water timidly, to test the water, before doing a small leap into the shallow and gentle stream. Blood moon looked over her as she cleansed herself, watching her with a 'big brother' like quality; protecting, concerned and reassuring. Ditzy doo felt comforted by his presence.

"I-I wanted to thank you for what you did" she told him, not looking striate at him she didn't want him to see her eyes yet, she wanted to have a friend for a little while before he left; like everypony else did.

"It's alright, just doing what's right" he replied, still watching the mare he knew would likely never be the same again. To Ditzy his voice was strange sounding, the natural fear that it invoked was not so much gone, more diluted, toned down but still present. He also had a noteworthy hint of care in the way he spoke.

"What's your name" Ditzy asked quietly. The assassin considered not answering, or giving a fake name. In the end he decided against it, having no reason to distrust the mare.

"Blood moon."

"Blood moon" Ditzy repeated quietly, rolling the name around her mouth, getting a feel for it. She looked back over at the stallion that had saved her from the two of the ponies that had made her youth a misery; he was sat on his hind quarters and she could get a good look at him, she attempted to take in his looks but the hood covered most of his face in shadow and all she could make out was a scar on his chin and his eyes. As she looked at blood red eyes she felt him staring her down, his gaze reaching into her soul, before she broke the lock of eyes. "Fitting" she told him and his head rolled back and thunderous laughter erupted from his maw like a volatile eruption of humour exploding from a volcano "what's so funny" Ditzy asked the stallion, her own lips curling up in laughter at as she watched him wind down from minuet long his laughing fit.

"I don't know" he admitted and he didn't, it was just the way she said it; like she was being completely honest in her observation or maybe it was because she was the only pony that had ever been so blunt with him about the way he looked or what he was called. The assassin opened his eyes to a very welcome sight; the mare was giggling to herself, most likely at his outburst, and it was the most reliving sight he had ever seen. After they had both finished with their little amused noises, consisting of little huffs and small grunt, they looked at each other again for a second before Blood moon noticed something about the mare's eyes. For once it was not the window to the soul that he noticed but the eyes themselves. He recognised the unfocused gaze as 'fractum oculus nervus' and suddenly a lot of things made sense _she's picked on for this, isn't she _the assassin thought as he leaned in, his mouth opened a little in disbelief. Ditzy noticed this and she turned her head away, obstructing his view, the air became tense between the two as the mailmare busied herself with cleaning the bulk of the stains from her flank. Minuets passed as she did this but she found herself unable to reach a spot on her back, not a second later did she hear the loosening of Blood moon's clothing. She looked over just as he placed himself in the cool water and edged over to her giving her a lopsided smile. Ditzy doo could properly see his face now and she wasn't all together what she got; he had wrinkles on his brow _worry lines I think their called _she thought as she looked at the rest of his features, he could be considered average but she was captured by his eyes and she felt as if he was anything but average.

"Need a hoof" he asked, bringing Ditzy from her thoughts.

"Uhhh y-yeah" she replied as she realised that they were both washing together now, within a few hours of knowing each other.

"You know, I don't think I got your name" Blood moon told her as he searched his memories for said information and coming up with nothing.

"Ditzy, I'm called Ditzy doo" she replies.

"Ditzy doo" the assassin repeats smiling as he says it "I like it" he says with sincerity, he didn't say it aloud but he found it cute.

Ditzy tensed slightly at his touch, it completely betrayed his persona of darkness, shadows and the ability to kill, coming out in a soft and caring caress rather than the rough and violent feel she had expected. Ditzy suddenly fount lewd thoughts and ideas going through her mind as the stallion cleaned her back. She wished that she hadn't gotten everything off her flank for one. Suddenly she felt herself being spun and her eyes opened in shock, before she could close her eyes again she was face to face with him, not two inches away from each other, as Blood moon looked straight into her eyes.

"I knew it" he said looking at her eyes before pulling back a little "the stallions…they bullied you because of this, didn't they" the mare didn't answer "didn't they" he repeats, this time with more force. Ditzy nods her head rapidly; her eyes now squeezed shut against the new tears that threated to spill, they didn't fall through and her eyes opened, once again in shock, as she felt the soft embrace around her, she was facing his strong chest and could feel him stroking the back of her mane in a soothing fashion. She melted into his hug and found herself liking the sensation of being held by a stallion, it made her feel liked, it gave her the sensation of having a friend, it made her feel good about herself. Made her feel loved "I'm sorry" he said simply, his deep voice rumbling from her vantage point against him.

"For what" she asks the stallion's chest "you didn't do anything."

"Maybe but…" he ended the hug and sat again on his flank before continuing "It just doesn't seem right or fair, somepony being picked on because of one thing about them that's out of their control" as he spoke Ditzy could feel something welling in her chest, this was only the second pony, Dinky hooves being the first, that had actually understood what was wrong with her and then going so far as to accept her despite it. "Perhaps the only good thing about this was that it wasn't your first..." Blood moon noticed the look on Ditzy's face and he realised something that horrified him "sweet Celestia, it was your first time wasn't it" he said slowly, unbelieving of the fact, not wanting to believe the fact that one of the most important things in any mares life had been so cruelly taken away from her. The mailmare simply nodded at him. Blood moon hung his head feeling defeated, before he had the strength to look up again. It was his own shame that weighed down on his shoulders, knowing that if he'd only acted faster then maybe this wouldn't have to be how Ditzy was introduced to intimacy. Ditzy felt no worse for it, however, she had all her hopes now clinging on the quality of her first kiss and who she shared it with and it was all she could do to hope it was perfect, as to make up for what had happened today. They both sat there for a while, Blood moon seemed to be checking Ditzy over, looking for anymore spots she hadn't reached, and all the while he was oblivious to the way grey mare, that was trying to figure out how she felt about the stallion before her, was looking at him and what was going through her mind as she lunged at him. The grab took the assassin of his flank and put him on his back, his horn glowing with its dark aura in an offensive manner but fortunately the mare that was hugging him once again, lying on top of him with her nether regions uncomfortably close to his, didn't seem to notice before he could dispel the magical attack that could K.O. an Ursa-major, given the correct spot and distance.

"You really have a way with words don't you" the mare said between giggles as she rested her chin back on his chest. _And you sure know where to put yourself to make a stallion blush _the assassin thought as he felt their groins pushed together slightly. He wasn't sure if it was unintentional either. The mare seemed to notice the red on the deep grey cheeks and she giggled once again; the assassin had never been too fond of giggles, chuckles or any kind of laugh that wasn't a laugh, save bemused grunts, but he had to admit it: the grey mailmare's cute little giggles were starting to grow on him. The mare didn't quite know where that had come from, it felt like impulse, her gut had commanded and she had obeyed, again, she didn't know why but it just felt _right._ Maybe it was because her emotions were everywhere now, maybe because the stallion in front of her was showing her care and acceptance when nopony else had or maybe it was because she enjoyed being in a stallion's embrace so much. After a few seconds in the blush invoking position, the duo parted and left the water, Ditzy's flank now much less degrading, and proceeded to watch the water flow by.

Blood moon had given his cloak to Ditzy and had put his vest back on but the belt was hidden in the hood that rested next to him. Together they spoke for hours; Ditzy spoke about her hard times throughout life, her parents, school, the young flier's academy and her life as a mailmare. Blood moon happily listened to it all; he was not so emotionally inept that he did not know why he was doing this. He knew that there are too many ponies out there, all with occupations similar to his be it assassin, mercenary or soldier there were too many that did not understand simple emotions or had distanced themselves from their own. To Blood moon it was what made him equine and not some feral beast. Blood moon listened to the mares tails, some were better than others; the abandonment of Ditzy parents made him grit his teeth but that was not the thing that took his attention in that particular story.

"A little sister" he repeated to himself, Ditzy doo had just told him about her younger sibling, Dinky hooves, and he wasn't sure how to respond to it. He had no problem with foals, in actual fact he rather liked them and their innocent look of life; he knew the darker parts of life, death, betrayal, corruption and what some ponies would do for a bit. A filly or colt however had not been exposed to it, not yet anyway, and he enjoyed watching somepony capable of enjoying life. He smiled before responding "I look forward to meeting her" he told her, earning a relived sigh and a certain grey mare's head leaning on his shoulder. He could tell she'd been nervous about telling him.

When Ditzy was done with her story Blood moon decided to return the favour, he did not make the decision lightly however but Ditzy had convinced him to tell her about his life before Ponyville. He looked headlong at the setting sun as he spoke to her about his work as an assassin; she seemed surprisingly uncaring about his chosen profession, like it was something she expected. Kind of unsurprising really after what she saw him do in the market. He told her about his code; explained what had driven him to create it.

"It was supposed to be the contract that made me my name, a contract that was truly challenging and the assassination I would be able to retire after. I was given the contract four years into my career; I always thought it was strange being given such a difficult contract so soon, I mean at the time there were other more experienced killers but I guess they wanted somepony that wouldn't be thought of strait away and, ultimately, get caught by the guard."

"W-who was it for" the mare asked, still a little uncomfortable around the subject.

"Princess Celestia" he told her. A moment passed as a cold breeze flowed past the pair "I did it the right way, any veteran would be proud; scouting the palace, learning their routine, picking the most opportune moment to strike out at them, having a route of escape planned out down to the finest detail and then… the time came to do the deed" the assassin told Ditzy his eyes wide and his lungs empty as he told her the last part, as though he regretted something he hadn't done.

"What happened" she asked as she moved a bit closer.

"Six years, nine months and" he paused as he took an accurate reading of the days past "eleven days ago, was the day my career took a change, for better or for worst I still don't know. It was the summer sun celebration; Celestia was addressing the crowd in Canterlot, as I stood above her, blade ready to taste blood, I found myself doubting my intentions, I mean what would killing Celestia achieve; disharmony for one, Discord would likely come back to power and everypony's lives would be generally ruined. So as I sat there ready to make about half a year's worth of planning come to fruition I just didn't. I let her live."

"Just like that" she asked.

"Well not exactly, I got curios" the assassin grunted, knowing that once he was curious about something he would move the whole of Equestria to get his answers "I started to wonder who would want Celestia dead, after a while I followed the trail to a group of fanatics based inside of the Everfree forest that wanted Discord back. Let's just they didn't live to see their next birthday" the assassin wrapped up, keeping it as blood free as possible. He went on to tell Ditzy about his early life

"When I was born, I was nothing special just a foal with some dark colours really. I was the first to notice something different when I preformed my first spell, it was no levitation spell or illumination charm, instead it was something called Umbra Linguam" the assassin told the mare, this being something he had never told anypony before "I first discovered my…gift, if you will, when I was trying to use basic magic. Nopony really knows why it happened but it did; instead of turning the book page in front of me it caused the shadows to creep onto me."

"Like in the market" Ditzy remembered. Blood moon looked down at the mare resting on him impressed.

"Well remembered, that was a word of my umbra vocabulary or put simply, one of four spells I can perform. That one in specific was hide" he went onto explain what he had done after killing the stallions in the market.

"So, you can become invisible in shadows" Ditzy concluded after a rather lengthy explanation.

"Put simply yes but as you can imagine, it's much more effective than just hiding in shadow" he told her.

"So…what else can you do" the mare asked casually, though in her head she was overflowing with curiosity, much to her surprise however the assassin tensed. Blood moon did not think it was a good thing that a large portion of the town knew about one of his spells but having one pony knowing all of them was definitely a large hole in his security. He looked down at her wide eyes and decided to humour her.

"Alright, so it's a tutorial you want huh" he said, more a statement than a question and his voice dripping with mischief. He stood and led the way to a cluster of trees "as you've already seen, I have the ability to hide within shadows and as you also already know this spell is one of four different types of Umbra Linguam" the assassin clarifies for the mare who proceeds to nod her head.

"Show me again" she asks with as much enthusiasm as a filly. The assassin grunts in amusement before his horn glows with its dark aura and the shadows cast by his hind legs start to move up them, turning his deep grey body into the colour of the gloom around him. The shadows continue to spread up him; they cover both his hind legs completely giving him the look of only half a pony stood normally on his two remaining legs, the shadows spread over his body and the end of his mane, though the mane changes little considering its colour's properties, The darkness goes over the fore-hooves in the same fashion as the hind-legs but this time it's as if liquid shade is dripping down his legs and all the while the darkness creeps down his legs it moves up and across his face turning his features into a simple black slate, melting across his muzzle and maw before they stretch over his eyes and render him completely invisible.

"Wow" is all a stunned Ditzy doo can think to say. For a moment his outline can just be made out but not a second after she notices it, it vanishes.

"Not bad, huh" Blood moon says from beside Ditzy, earning him a small sequel to which he responds to by crackling like an invisible mad stallion. The mare giggles a little before waving her hoof were she assumes him to be, though she finds nothing but air.

"Blood moon, where'd you go" she asks the darkness and trees around her.

"Boo."

Ditzy squeals once again as she hears the disembodied voice from right next to her head, snapping her gaze to her left she makes out a stallion; Blood moon, his face barley an inch from her own. They stand there for a second, as if they've been caught with their hoof in the cookie jar, paralyzed, silent, unblinking and above all monstrous blush's raging on both of their faces. Blood moon hadn't noticed how close he had been to the mailmare and certainly hadn't expected to come this close to her. Not yet anyway. They both back off at once, a mutual reluctance between them, before Blood moon continues.

"Hide, my first spell. Now stand back a little" Blood moon, still with a little heat behind his face, tells Ditzy doo, also with a little red on her features. The glow around his horn picks up again, starting calm and tight around it, it suddenly becomes more aggressive, more violent as it sharpens and grows around the horn. Ditzy feels something move around her hooves, looking down she sees nothing but can still feel it, like a snake withering past her though as light as the grass flowing past her on a lazy breeze. Suddenly the contact becomes more solid, more real and just as soon as the change happens four black tendrils shoot out of the ground, they take the form of tentacles before they seem to harden, become stronger and more powerful after a while the take the form of demonic looking serpents. They all snapped, snarled and spat menacingly as they continued to grow; their bodies muscled and grew sharp scales, while their heads, all identical, produced black slits on their dark gold eyes and a crimson forked tong tasted the air like a snake would but unlike a snake they gave out deep roars from their powerful jaws, ready to rip apart the first thing their master considered a threat. Now finished growing they were a sight to behold; the bodies were three feet in muscly and powerful diameter; they stretched two meters long, their bodies still slightly coiled; the scales that armoured their bodies were the same black that had covered Blood moon when he had hid in the shadows; and the heads, distinguished from the bodies by black spikes angled down from the face, were dark, menacing and downright evil looking but it went further than that, the looks on their faces were cold and calculating giving them a look of vicious intelligence rather than just angry instinct. The shadow serpents (as Ditzy nicknamed them) looked down at Ditzy from their vantage points atop their extensive bodies.

"These are the product of the 'battle' spell, all four of them are great fighters when I have control of them but… they have trouble telling friend from foe when I lose my influence over them" the assassin explained as the serpents continued to regard Ditzy doo.

"Cool" she said with an astounding amount of resolve, so much so that she seemed unimpressed. _Well we can't have that now, can we_ the assassin thought with a devious grin spreading across his face. Quick as a flash, the serpents darted for Ditzy doo and wrapped around her legs. The mare screamed as the shadowy creatures carried her over to Blood moon who was on his back laughing like a mad stallion, Ditzy saw the assassin howling and wasn't amused by his antics putting on an annoyed version of her trademark 'derp' face. The assassin saw the mix of narrowed eyes and innocently scrunched nose and bottom lip and he felt his heart melt at the unarguably adorable sight.

"Aww, did Ditzy get upset" he joked as he brought the mailmare closer to him. He held the mare up close to him so he could grin straight into her face. Something shifted between them. He saw the innocents in her soul and the foalish cuteness of her face, she saw the only caring stallion she had met in her life and the rugged looks his features held. They continued to look at each other as they processed the emotions going through themselves; Blood moon felt an unfamiliar warmth in his chest at the sight of Ditzy doo this close to him, the feeling, though alien, was welcomed and felt and felt nice, the sensation reminding him of one of the few hugs he'd shared with his mother. Ditzy doo meanwhile was coming to terms with the spread of warmth in her in a much more knowledgeable fashion; recognising the emotion she felt as love, she felt no reason to not embrace it. In that moment she felt her lose herself to the unspoken part of her subconscious mind as she leaned into the assassin.

Blood moon didn't see it coming; no amount of training or magical prowess could, as all he saw was Ditzy's sudden advance as she moved her maw over to his was an increase in size of those ever pleasant, yellow and unfocused eyes. The thing that surprised him most perhaps was that he made no effort to withdraw; he didn't lean back as she leaned forward but simply let it happen.

They kissed.

The act was neither fleeting nor fast, Blood moon lost focus on the serpents holding up Ditzy and she dropped on top of him, their lips still connected, as he rested on his back he felt the heat of Ditzy's body push against his chest as they continued their embrace. He let his mind escape him for a moment, his instinct taking over as he felt his eyes close half way, leaving them open a crack so he could still gaze upon his partner. Ditzy was in a bliss she had never felt before, her instincts had taken over and she had closed her eyes as they meet each other's lips, she remained relaxed as she held her partner and felt a feeling of immense heat and electricity pulse through her body and saw no reason to reject it, instead letting herself meet Blood moon's embrace with one of her own. Her left fore-hoof rested on the ground beside the stallion head and her right rapped itself under his neck, pulling him further into the kiss they shared. Blood moon replied with his own caress, gently stroking her mane with his right fore-hoof and his left holding her waist. The kiss went on for a long while, each getting well acquainted with each other's mouths, before they reluctantly broke apart.

"Well, that was something" the assassin commented, a grin on his face, after a while of the pair lying there. He didn't say it but he hoped to Celestia that she had enjoyed that, her virginity had been stolen from her and he knew full well that there was no getting it back but he knew that he could still salvage this day by letting her have a nice first kiss.

"Sure was" Ditzy replied a little breathless._ Perfect _she thought, a smile gracing her lips as the thought crossed her mind. The moment passed, the two of them looked at each other while trying not to shift their lower bodies, as they had both noticed that, once again, their crotches were connected as they lay there. The comments they were making did not reflect what they were thinking; others would presume they were feeling awkward but it was the simple fact that they could have lay there together for hours smiling at each other and would have if the wind had not picked up. Ditzy looked up to the sky's with a look on her face that told Blood moon that she had just realised something.

"I think the Pegasi scheduled rain tonight" the Pegasus told the unicorn. Blood moon grimaced slightly _and I have nowhere to stay tonight _he thought as he looked past the canopy of trees past Ditzy doo's head.

"Well you'd better get home before you get soaked" he told the mailmare.

"What about you."

"I'll be fine, you don't need to worry about me" he told the mare.

"Blood moon, do you have somewhere to sleep tonight." _Busted _the assassin thought as he lay there.

"Well, there was a nice looking tree a little ways out of town" he admitted, telling her his sleeping plans. She looked down at him with a worried expression before it turned to a small blush as she looked away.

"Well, you could always stay at my place" she offered timidly. The assassin had hoped she'd say that, one; so he could meet Dinky and two; so he could finally get a look at the dossier he'd been keeping with him all day. He'd actually planned to give it a once over at the bar but his meeting with Sand Stalker had prevented that. The assassin nodded to the mare, who smiled widely at him in response before getting up off of him. The assassin quickly missed the warmth.

* * *

The trip back to Ditzy's place was pleasant, but a little tense due to Blood moon's need to stay incognito around Ponyville. Once again what should have been a simple twenty minuet journey was extended because of the stallions constant avoiding of other ponies. It didn't seem to bother Ditzy however; she actually seemed amused by it all. After an hour's worth of cautious trotting they arrived at Ditzy's home; not a very outstanding place, your average Ponyville thatched roof-two story job, it was unassuming and subtle. Just what Blood moon needed. As the pair approached a small pale purple filly ran out to them.

"Sis" the filly shouted to them. Ditzy's face immediately lit up as she saw the foal, even as the young one leaped up and crashed into her elder sibling and embraced her in a heart-warming fashion; the filly blood moon identified as Dinky hooves had her short fore-hooves reaching as far as they could over the older mare's chest as Ditzy held the filly tightly against her, so that nopony in equestria could separate them, with her wings wrapped around her, protecting her from the elements. Blood moon looked on in admiration; this was what a true, loving family looked like. His hood cast a shadow further over his features as he remembered his foalhood relationship with his parents. It was not a welcome memory. Was brought out of his dark past a the sound of his name,

"-is Blood moon, he's a friend of mine" Ditzy told Dinky. Said filly trotted up to him and looked up at the stallion from beneath him, the tall stallion having to look straight down at the young mare.

"Hey" the stallion said a little dumbly, his voice visibly shaking the filly "I believe you are Dinky hooves" he says his voice becoming quieter and softer, more suited to a filly, as he speaks he lowers himself to her level, bringing them to equal standing.

"Yeah, that's me" the filly replies, her voice a younger and higher version of her sisters.

"It's a pleasure to meet you little one" he says as he takes his hood off and allows the filly a better look at him.

"My sister say's your real nice and that you're her friend" the filly tells the stallion who looks over to said sister for a second to gauge her reaction; happy, most likely that Blood moon is getting along with her. The assassin looks back to the filly.

"I'd like to be your friend to" he tells her, utilizing foal handling skills he hasn't had to use in a while. The filly smiles at him before saying 'sure'. The assassin picks up the filly with a levitation spell and puts her on his back before following Ditzy into the house.

A modest place, directly inside the door the living room lies; a fire place surrounded by a light green chair and sofa, off to the left a doorway leads to the kitchen and a stair-way at the back left-hoof corner leads up to the second floor. The two sisters sit on the couch while Blood moon takes the chair. The assassin looks over the filly and mare and notices the tiredness in their eyes.

"You two should get some sleep" Blood moon advises the two worn out looking sister.

"But I ain't tired" the filly exclaims before falling strait to sleep falling into her sisters awaiting fore-hooves. Blood moon had to admit he liked the filly, if only because she was the living, breathing definition of the 'happy little filly'. He magically lifted her onto Ditzy's back.

"Thanks, you know you're great with foals" the mailmare told the assassin wearily. Blood moon shrugged at the complement.

"Just treat them the way that feels right but for now, you should rest" he told her, suppressing a yawn himself.

"Yeah, you to Blood moon" Ditzy told him with a small smile, which might as well have been a small kiss goodnight between them. The mailmare ascended the stairs and Blood moon sits on the sofa, before taking out the dossier with his magic. Laying the contents on the table between him and the fireplace he looks over the file with growing curiosity. He recognised the target; from the magenta fur, to the styling of the mane he knew this mare. The other thing that caught his attention was the name; one of the names that Sand Stalker had given him was the apparent title of this Canterlot born, unicorn mare as well as the student of princess Celestia herself. This troubled the assassin; if this _Twilight Sparkle _was the personal protégée of the ruler of Equestria then he could have his work cut out for him. At that moment something struck him; this mare had been on the streets of Ponyville unguarded, with only her friends as company, this could mean one of two things: either Celestia didn't think Ponyville was the place to attract killers or Twilight knew how to defend herself. As he continued to read the information he continued to become more and more troubled about this contract. _Element of harmony? One of the mares that defeated Nightmare moon, Discord, Sombra and the Changeling army. Damn it Blood moon, what have you gotten yourself into here _was all the assassin could think as he closed the file and threw it onto the fire. As he watched the embers burn the papers he felt sleep take him, he was good at staying awake with very little rest but two days trotting almost nonstop, a fight in the middle of Ponyville and his antics with Ditzy were taking their toll on him and he could feel fatigue setting in, he knew he had to rest as he lay down on the couch and let sleep take him, though he knew it would not be a peaceful night. Luna would never grant him a peaceful night.

**A/N: So, big chapter people this one goes out to all the readers that didn't like what happened to Ditzy in Ch.4. Anywho, leave a comment on your way out and I'll see you next chapter.**

**Productive faffer out.**

**P.S. if you think the romance was too sudden or too cheesy do tell, that being what I was trying my best to avoid and it would be nice to know if I failed miserably or not.**


	7. Internal confilicts

Chapter seven: Internal conflicts

Blood moon opened his eyes, though he was not awake; far from it. He knew where he was and to say the least, was not happy about it. He was inside his own head. His dreams to be exact, around he saw what he normally saw; a deep forest at night time, the assassin sat on the outskirts of the thick woodland, rolling hills carried off into the distance covered in small shrubbery and nocturnal critters. The sky above him was overcast, the clouds covering the sky and stars, with the moon peeking over the top. The assassin trotted around the edge of the forest keeping to the shadows in a vain attempt to delay the inevitable _wonder if I can evade her for the night, be alone with my thoughts. I have to think about what happened with Ditzy… _ Almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind the Princess of the night made her inevitable appearance. Princess Luna; midnight blue fur, mane and tail that shimmered in the moonlight before turning to a translucent pale purple, her eyes sparkling blue. The deep black crest upon her chest, that Blood moon had always assumed was armour, depicted the crescent moon which doubled as her cutie mark upon her black flank seemed to glow in the darkness, the shoes on her hooves and small tiara on her head went well with the rest of her look. Though no matter how good she looked the alicorn stood before the assassin would draw nothing but mocking comments and a deep sense of distaste but his history with her would always prevent any feelings of hatred. That said he still was not overly fond of her as she took delight in torturing him in his dreams; be it bringing up past mistakes and failures, tormenting him with some classic mind probing that would send a lesser pony's mind insane or basic physical attacks, preformed so masterfully that he could only wonder where she learnt to preform acts of pain so well.

"Blood moon" she stated, mock formalities in her tone.

"Luna" the assassin replied, no respect in his voice. The assassin had never had a great degree of respect, if any at all, for nobles or royalty. To them respect was something they automatically had, not something to be earned or gained over time just given to them by ponies they saw as below them "to what do I owe the pleasure this night" he asked, already knowing the answer; she was hear for some sick pleasure.

"You know why I'm here" she told him, confirming that she wasn't here for chatting "so tell me, how goes the life of the lowest scum Equestria has to offer" she asks in mock casualness "from what I hear, a certain somepony has fond their special other" she taunts.

"How did you know about that" the assassin demanded.

"Oh please, you really think I spend all my time in your little old head" she sneers, a facial expression Blood moon had never liked "Ditzy, it seems, is dreaming of you" Luna tells him, teasing this infamous and deadly assassin like a colt that has found a fillyfriend.

"Touching" he murmured "would it be too much to ask to leave her out of this" the killer asks quietly.

"What's this, Blood moon the infamous assassin, the hunter, the stallion who cannot be caught, seen or killed, begging me to leave his marefriend alone" she laughs out.

"Y' know you really have a darker side to you" Blood moon tells her.

"Well, one-thousand years one the moon will take its toll on ones temper, especially when the pony that outrage is aimed at almost killed her sister" she shouting the latter part at him, her fuse definitely shortening.

"Oh, hey there Nightmare where'd you come from it thought I was talk-"

"THOU SHALL NOT COMPARE US TO NIGHMARE MOON WELP" the Princess of the moon roars in her Canterlot voice. Luna's horn glows a shade similar to her mane as the vines of the nearby trees lash out at the assassin, who offered no resistance to the attack; he had learned the hard way that this was Luna's domain and that trying to defend yourself was nigh impossible. He relaxed and waited for what was to come.

"Tell me Luna; where would you be if we were to be facing each other face to face rather than your cowardly ways of confrontation, hiding inside the dreams of your victim" the assassin taunts. The assassin's taunts were all he had, combat was out of the question, trying not to break to her punishment was also pretty low when it came to chances and it was likely that she would be too busy inflicting pain to listen to any of his own mind tricks so simple insults were all's he had. The vines pulled, tightened, taunted and ripped against his limbs; Blood moon knew it was an illusion, simulated pain, but it didn't change the fact that it hurt like actual torture.

As the pain that Luna saw he deserved continued, the assassin thought about this side of her, trying to get his mind off of the pain that was likely causing him to stir in his sleep, this side that took pleasure in putting a pony through a nightmare _huh, fitting choice of words _the assassin thought as he felt his legs dislocate under the strain supplied by the ever tightening vines. The Princesses were good at not showing the side of themselves that overthrew Discord, Sombra and had wielded the Elements of harmony; the side that won wars and fought. The sides of themselves that could be unnecessarily brutal at times.

"Huh, this isn't as bad as normal. Am I growing on you Lu-" the assassin couldn't finish his taunt as he was thrown across the small dream clearing and smacked into a dream tree, wishing the pain that followed was just as unreal.

"Would you like me to tell you what that mare was dreaming about? It was when you kissed her. She replayed that point over and over, tell me this assassin" she spat out the last word "do you think yourself a knight in shining armour, her savour. A good stallion, well my little pony let me tell you; you may not realise it yet but all you have done is preyed on the weak, using her to your own end no doubt."

"What makes you say 'prey on the weak' Luna" the assassin questions as he stands unsteadily.

"Ha, don't try and fool me assassin" she spat "I know your ways; put fear into an innocent mares heart before putting on a ruse of comfort and friendship. You use ponies for your own gain vile deceiver" Luna hisses at him.

"Oh please. 'Vile deceiver' thought that purple mare dressed as Starswirl got the Canterlot vocab out of your system last nightmare night" the assassin laughs at her choice of words. His taunt seems to hit a soft spot, though not what he was expecting. The Princess of the night leans in, letting her gaze bore into his (to no avail) before stating in a deadly whisper.

"You shall not talk about Twilight sparkle, you filthy rat." Oh yes, he'd hit a sweet spot.

"You know this one do you" the assassin smirked "seemed terrified last I saw he-" the assassin was slammed into a tree viciously, causing him to cough up fake blood created by Luna's illusion. He laughed painfully as he was held against the tree by an enraged Princess.

"WHAT DID THOU DO TO HER WHELP" the Princess, once again, roared in her Canterlot voice. The assassin changed, no longer mocking or smirking, becoming deadly serious.

"You really want to know" he asked in a challenging manner, his sudden shift making Luna regret asking "I'll tell you. When I saved Ditzy, do you know what I saved her from or was your muzzle so far up your sister's royal flank to notice" he laughed unwilling to take a mature higher ground, seeing as it would do him no good. His insult got him a lash from the vines that felt like a bull-whip being raked across his body. "I'll take that as a yes" he groaned in pain but managed to keep the defying laugh in his voice. Struggling to stand up, he faced the Princess on all fours as he told her "I saved her from death and comforted her after defilement" when he told her Luna must have be taken aback as the simulated forest around them seemed to sand still. Perhaps it was the atmosphere that his words brought with them but the dream's wind faulted, the small sounds of life ceased and the sway of the grassed halted.

"Y-you what" she asked, paralysed.

"You heard me Luna" he told her, his challenging voice flowed away and was replaced by the familiar mocking tone he so often addressed her with as he noticed her discomfort "oh what's the matter my fearless princess" he asked putting sarcastic emphasis on 'fearless' "what's wrong Lu-Lu, don't like the darker side of life" he continued. Luna seemed to snap out at this remark.

"You don't know the things I've seen so don't you dare, for one minuet think that-"

"That what? You've had it easy, you're a Princess. You've seen the darker side of life, no excuse for somepony that should be ruling and protecting the night. That you've seen the greater burdens of life, well don't you forget that I have to. Were no strangers to immortality Luna and" she went to interrupt but Blood moon cut her off before she got a word out "BE SILENT YOU SAD EXCUSE FOR ROYALTY" he roared, his age old attitude resurfacing "I was there the day you were born, I was there the whole of that damned war, I was there as you turned bitter and watched you turn to Nightmare moon, I was living a lot longer before you Luna or even longer than Celestia and you know I was there throughout Discord's rule so don't think that I don't know the pains you've seen and felt Luna" he paused and calmed himself from his rage fuelled rant "and don't think I haven't seen worse. You think I don't know what you've see Luna; well don't forget I was there your whole life. We learned together, fought together" the assassin smiled at millennia past days "I watched you grow up, Celestia to. Just because I took a different path through life doesn't take away the days we spent together in your youth" he finished. He had tried his damnedest to keep these memories suppressed but every time he was confronted by Luna they would come rushing back and it had got harder to keep his mouth shut in her presence. It was obvious by Luna's reaction that she was troubled by this outburst; in all the times she had approached him like this he had been remarkably impassive, asides from the first time in which he had fought aggressively and failed, tonight however he had fought once again but in no way she could defend herself from. There was no escaping the truth. The Princess of the night watched the assassin she had once called friend breath heavily, his sudden anger leaving him. She now regretted her intrusion into his dreams this last year.

"Blood moon, I-I-" she could not think of anything to say, what could you say to such a speech, he had never referred to their time together before now and it was clear he felt better for it, like he had got something off of his chest.

"Save it Luna" he interrupted, sparring her "just leave me to my mistakes and regrets" he requested.

"Regrets" she repeats in a confused manner "you always say that you don't regret your choices or actions" she told him.

"I didn't" he admitted with a sigh as he looked over the hills rolling into the distance "but what happened with Ditzy…it troubles me" he explained, surprisingly comfortable with confiding in Luna.

"Really" she said setting down next to him "how so" her wise and sage like side coming through. The assassin sighed deep and long.

"Through my life I have made mistakes but none linger on my mind as this one dose, if only because I'm not altogether sure if it was a mistake at all" Blood moon told her in a strange form of confession.

"Tell me what you mean by that; start from the top." Blood moon proceeded to tell the story of yesterday's events; from when he arrived in Ponyville to when he arrived at Ditzy doo's house. Once finished he took a deep breath as he awaited Luna's answer.

"I see what troubles you then. You wonder if it was too sudden" she concluded as she looked over the peaceful planes she had created in Blood moon's mind.

"Yes, I wonder, would it be too much to ask for your advice on the situation" he requested, not without a hit to the pride. Luna's quick outburst explained the hit he took to the pride.

"Hahaha, oh old uncle Blood moon asking for little Luna's help after all those time I came galloping to you with my problems and you so readily listened. Now the shoe, it seems, is on the other hoof." Blood moon smiled at one of his old memories, as well as the pet name he'd given her in her youth.

"Remember that time you came galloping into the training yard, a bundle of tears and worries, and all of a sudden I had a crying filly in front of me as I was addressing troops that were about to start their training. I still remember their faces as they watched me pick you up and carry you into your chambers getting you to shush and tell me all about it" he recalled as he laughed heartily as he remembered the faces of confusion, turn to irritation before they turned to the expressions of stallions how'd hearts had just melted. Luna giggled a little to.

"You were always willing to drop everything for me and Celestia."

"I was wasn't I. But can you do the same" he asked, bringing the convocation back to its point. Luna gave a long sigh.

"Well, I always thought you, of all ponies, would take greater care when treating a pony in that kind of distress. I get the feeling that she was going on frayed emotions and was indeed a vulnerable pony at the time" she explained in a guru like manner that impressed Blood moon greatly. The assassin sighed as he admitted his mistake in a defeated fashion.

"Maybe…but it didn't feel all that wrong. If it was a mistake, and I believed it in my heart, surly I would feel badly about it" he pondered aloud.

"Well I leave this for you to figure out, assassin" she said with no venom on the final word for once "I'm sure you'll come to the best answer. Ditzy as well." The assassin hummed in reply. "I must leave you for now Blood moon but I look forwards to our next meeting" she told him. There was something in her tone that caused him to raise an eyebrow "It will be in person, at Ponyville." The assassin growled, she knew where he was and was likely to inform her sister, who had a much deeper hatred for him. Despite this he smiled.

"I look forwards to it, little Luna" he grinned. Luna smiled in response.

"Sleep well, Hunter" she left him with as her form turned to smoke and blew into the distance.

* * *

Blood moon awoke from his slumber. Sweat drenched him and the couch he lay on but he was not very distressed or panicked, as he normally was when he awoke from dreams involving Luna. He slid off of the couch and stood, he could hear the shower running up-stairs and assumed Ditzy was showering up there. He did not wish to see her right now; he needed to have some time to himself, to think about what Luna had said and to decide on the best course of action. Trotting to the door he dressed himself in his vest and picked up his blade, carrying it out with him. Once outside he looked around him once or twice before finding what he was looking for. A tree; a good, sturdy tree that was old and strong, the bark a deep brown and the leaves light green following the arrival of spring. Blood moon trotted towards the tree and stopped around twenty paces away.

_Thunk._

His blade hit the tree perfectly horizontal, having been thrown by the assassin via his right fore-hoof. The weapon vibrated in place slightly as it came to a rest; Blood moon stared at it for a second before he approached it and ripped it back out. _Luna was right; it was too sudden, she likely wasn't thinking strait after what happened and she barely knows me…maybe that's for the better. I wonder how she would take finding out that I'm an eleven-thousand year old pony._

_Thunk._

Blood moon had no problem with the age difference; he was likely the oldest pony in Equestria and had come to terms with it; he was older than Celestia by about nine-thousand years and Luna about nine and a half-thousand. It was impossible for him to find a mare his age, so it was simply practical for him to find somepony much younger than him, not that it bothered him, if his supposedly special somepony was bothered about his age than they were fools as far as he was concerned. He looked as he did when he was twenty-seven and always would look that way for as long as he lived, so that would be no problem and he could act very immaturely at times, so complaining about an 'old stallion attitude' was not altogether possible.

_Thunk._

His thoughts drifted back to Ditzy; he liked her, that much was for sure and he got the idea that either she liked him or she was as Luna had suspected vulnerable at the time. His hoof flashed faster and the sword imbedded itself deeper into the tree, a sudden flash of anger fuelling his throw. The assassin didn't like the idea of 'preying on the weak' not in that respect anyway; it seemed un-gentlecolt like and he had always strived to act his best around mares and to always treat them with respect. He let out a sigh, feeling defeated, he knew he would have to come to terms with the idea that he had let Ditzy kiss him because he had been too preoccupied impressing her and had missed the signs. Looking back they were obvious to him; slightly blushed cheeks, lingering stares, how playful she was acting when he'd been demonstrating his magic and above all the look she had given him just before the kiss. He'd lied to himself that day; he could have seen it coming but had been blinded by her cute facial expressions and attitude. He wondered what that could mean.

_Thunk._

The other side of the argument spoke-up; _she needed it, the way that day had been going for her she needed to feel better about herself, needed to feel loved _his instinct argued with his logic _and don't you dare say you didn't like it Hunter. _

"Maybe they're both right" he murmured to himself.

"Who's both right" a voice asked.

"Eh, the voices in my head" he explained absently.

"You listen to the voices in your head" the voice said, perplexed.

"Well, you'd be surprised how much sense they make when you pay attention" he admitted.

"I'll keep that in mind" the voice told him.

"Yeah…Ditzy doo, how long have you been there" he asked the voice without looking at her, somewhat worried that he hadn't heard her approach.

"The third throw" she revealed "were you thinking about…" she trailed off and Blood moon knew what she was asking.

"Yeah" he said at length "listen Ditzy, I gotta know; what was going through your head when…"

"When I kissed you" she finished for him "I'm not sure, to be honest" she told him. She took a deep breath "I-I wasn't thinking strait, I was just feeling desperate and I needed something to take my mind off of…what happened" she hung her head, ashamed and defeated "I'm sorry if-"

"Don't be" Blood moon cut in, he had turned to face the grey mare properly "whatever you do, don't regret. Nothing good comes from regretting what you do throughout your life. Especially if you don't need to regret what you've done." Ditzy detected the change in his tone and looked up at him "I understand why you kissed me, you were…distressed and not thinking strait, your thoughts clouded and from what I can guess your subconscious thoughts became your outward actions" he told her, explaining his theory. Ditzy looked up, her unfocused gaze settling on Blood moon.

"I guess that's true" she paused as she gathered her thoughts "but it's not the whole truth" She watched Blood moon's expression turn from all-knowing and sage like to one of confusion and curiosity "I needed to feel better about myself and the fact that I had…lost…my virginity" she said, still coming to terms with it "I needed to have some kind of reassurance about how my love life could go…"

"So you shared your first kiss with somepony you saw cared about you" he put together for himself. So he had been right at the time, she needed to feel better about the day and apparently her sharing her first kiss was her way of dealing with it. Well someponies dealt with things differently from others. He couldn't blame her, she had just been raped and he knew she was lucky or very strong willed, that she had come away with no mental scars. None he could make out anyway.

"I-I hope you don't mind" she said a little timid of his reaction. Blood moon responded with a kind smile on his face.

"Ditzy, don't worry about it. I never saw it as wrong…or unpleasant" he told her with sincerity in his voice. His last comment caused Ditzy to blush. The pair sat there for a few minutes in companionable silence.

"So, um… sorry to seem blunt but" she faltered, apparently unable to word her next sentence "where…should we take this." Blood moon knew what she was trying to ask and gave a small, lopsided grin.

"I'd like to see where it goes" he told her, more or less asking her out in code. The reaction was immediate; she beamed at him a second before lunging at him, though this time Blood moon expected it, he rolled onto his back as the mare landed on him and wrapped his for-hooves around her neck in tight embrace, which Ditzy returned in earnest. Blood moon noticed it again and he could only wonder, how in Equestria, their groins kept pressing against each other. Ditzy seemed to notice as well, as she looked down with a deep red blush on her face.

"I thought you were just friends." Blood moon froze, as did Ditzy, both their eyes wide and both their pupils retracted. The assassin slowly turned his head to the left, were the voice had come from, as the mailmare did the same. _I'm slipping, getting old, must be _the assassin thought as he looked at the pale purple filly that had a small smile on her face as she looked at the hugging stallion and mare. Ditzy's wings spread as she took flight and got off of Blood moon.

"Uhhh, well-you see" Ditzy stammered. Blood moon grunted in amusement at her loss for words.

"We were just showing how we felt for each other" he explained as he looked up at the mare that was staring at him in disbelief. He saw no point in hiding a rather obvious relationship between the two; he also knew that Dinky would likely figure it out for herself. The filly squealed and leaped up to her hovering sister, pulling her into as big a hug as she could manage, before she dropped down onto the on looking unicorn assassin and pulled him into a another hug. The assassin grunted as the filly landed on top of him, right on his chest, as she wrapped her hooves around him. He couldn't help himself, he returned the hug but he tried to be gentle with her, knowing he sometimes he did not know his own strength. Ditzy looked down at the stallion hugging the filly and felt her heart melt; Blood moon seemed to be a different stallion around Dinky and it easily showed, he was gentle, calm, kind and he treated her with the same respect the would show a mare her own age. He'd make a great father someday.

Blood moon broke the hug first and stood up. No matter how much he liked the company of Ditzy and Dinky, he had to do something to keep active and he knew what that something was.

"Ditzy, I have to do something around the Everfree forest" he lied, surprisingly uneasy with it.

"Ok, I have to take Dinky to school anyway" she told him in response. _Well that's convenient _the assassin thought. The assassin got his things and parted ways with them not a minute later, making his way to Ponyville, finding the bar in which he found Sand Stalker. The extended journeys were beginning to annoy him, having to keep to the side streets and back alleys was starting to become tedious and the close calls were getting to him making him too paranoid for his own good.

Arriving at the bar he was welcomed by Sand Stalker head-butting an earth pony that seemed to be bugging the mare tending the bar _charming fellow _he thought as he passed the stallion holding a broken snout and muttering something about a 'damn bucker' that was standing at the bar and chatting to its tender (who seemed much more comfortable with the company).

"Sand" the assassin said from besides the mercenary. Said soldier of fortune turned to him, un-shocked and un-phased, and smiled slightly at his presence.

"Blood moon, good to see you" he said quietly, so the barmare would not hear him "need to talk" he asked, hinting over to the door. Blood moon nodded. Back in the alleyway they had spoken in before, they picked up the convocation about the important aspects of Ponyville almost like no time had passed.

"Now, the mares you mentioned" he said starting things back up without any pleasantries or formalities.

"Twilight sparkle" Blood moon remembered the job he had been given "Rainbow dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie pie; they look after Ponyville and are all pretty well known. There's something else to, they all represent the elements of harmony" he explained. Blood moon simply sighed; he had suspected as much but hoped he was wrong. He needed to learn more about this Twilight herself in order to decide whether or not to go through with this job. He had to admit it though; the more he learned about this job the more difficult it appeared, more challenging. He smiled at the prospect of a half decent job after so long, Celestia's student, element of harmony, well known and a powerful unicorn. He wouldn't just jump into this job though, his code came first.

"Thank you Sand Stalker but I need to be going" he told the mercenary. The merc grunted.

"What, not even gonna let me by you a drink" the assassin raised an eyebrow at the gesture "I ain't got any friends left" he explained. The assassin saw no reason not to oblige.

"Alright but one drink, I have a job to do" he told the merc who grinned at the idea of having some company as he drank away his sorrows.

* * *

An hour later, filled with one drink, a few exchanged stories and a goodbye between the two fast friend, and Blood moon was stood in the shadows watching the home of Twilight sparkle. Over the years he had come to see buildings as having their own personalities and it was easy to regard a structure as a pony. Fortresses were soldiers, organised and armed, a science facility was a scientist, filled with knowledge, was potentially paranoid and had the distinct possibility of being slightly insane, and civilian building, such as a house or public service, was your basic pony, they had patterns that were easy to follow. This would be the weakness of any mark held up in a house or library in this case but sod's law had it that absolutely nothing happened all day and he couldn't shake the feeling that this was an unusual occurrence for Twilight sparkle, if her large group of friends were anything to go by. Still he needed information about this mare and it was starting to look like he would have to go for a good old fashioned break-in to try and find any kind of information about his target, without raising eyebrows of course, that being the reason he was not simply asking about this unicorn because having to ask somepony else would make him stand out too much. There was also the fact that he preferred to have his own information about his marks, a personal trait that spawned from his third rule of conduct.

The assassin looked to the sky, a full day had passed and he'd done practically nothing but watch the golden oaks library, meaning he'd wasted the day. He sighed in defeat and stood, making his way back to Ditzy's house. Half way there he stopped and looked around himself; he was still in the shadows and nopony could see him, the streets were sparsely populated and the assassin saw no guards nearby so he felt there was no better time to conduct a small experiment. He moved out of the shade and began to trot the streets of Ponyville like anypony else; he didn't expect it but nopony seemed to pay him mind, the odd scared look sure but nopony screamed or galloped for the guards, as far as he knew, this made the journey back to Ditzy's place faster and for that Blood moon was grateful, he was beginning to get impatient with all the cloak and dagger skulking around Ponyville. Not fifteen minutes later he was at the small house, situated on the outskirts of the town, and was watching Ditzy and Dinky play together; it appeared to be a form of hide and seek in which Ditzy never won as she was always trying to hide behind small shrubs and became genuinely surprised when her little sister found her. The assassin watched from a distance, amused to no end, before he approached the pair.

"I'd like to see you find me that easily" he called over in his way of announcing himself. Dinky looked over and smiled while Ditzy gave one of her own and waved.

"Hey there Mr Blood moon, how've you been" Dinky asked, galloping her small filly gallop over to him. _Oh, well I've been watching the home of somepony I mean to kill. The entire day was a frustrating waste and now I have to resort to breaking in at night time just to learn about her because I'm the stallion that killed the rapists and attempted murderers of your sister/mother, an act I performed in broad daylight in front of my mark and her friends, so I can't just go asking about her. I'm enraged at the amount of timber-wolf droppings I have to trek through to get this job done, frustrated at myself for allowing myself to kiss your big sister after she'd been sexually assaulted and I'm been driven insane by a certain Princess of the night who has been tormenting my dreams ever since she returned only to find she is either an ally or could bring the cavalry into Ponyville and have me ripped limb from limb, so foal I guess you could say I have the full brunt of the Equestrian army breathing down my neck for external problems and my own mental arguments about how I feel about Ditzy doo for internal problems. How am I doing filly…_

"I'm fair" the assassin told the Dinky hooves. The filly smiled in response and went inside, most likely to avoid the dark clouds overhead. "Another storm" the assassin commented on the repeat of yesterday's weather, the rain from which had only just dried out.

"Yeah, I think we should get inside before" the rain began, pelting down on the stallion and mare "we get wet" Ditzy finished a little hopelessly.

Once inside the three of them sat down at the fire which warmed them as they spoke about their days. Blood moon made little attempt to speak, instead listening to the pair's tails about how boring school was and how the ponies at work were suddenly giving her a wider birth than usual, after yesterday's events. The assassin listened but his mind was elsewhere, thinking up a plan for tonight. Infiltrating a library would be no challenge, nor would gathering info on Twilight. A simple in-out job by all standards but he wouldn't be caught off guard and decided to go in there as if he were storming a fortress that was protecting the princess herself. With that in place he allowed himself to sleep briefly, it was nine now and sleeping five hours would put him to two in the morning, nopony would be awake that late, that at least he knew and could be sure of, seeing as most towns practically fell asleep as a hole at around one in the morning and Ponyville would be no exception. He took comfort in the fact that after this, he could really get things moving. After this either he would deem twilight sparkle as innocent or he would have her blood on his hooves. He grinned at the prospect of killing somepony close to Luna and Celestia and he would be sure to treat it as the great princess of the sun's punishment for what she did to him so long ago.


	8. The soldier the shadow and the sorceress

Chapter eight: The soldier, the shadow and the sorceress.

Blood moon awoke. He was not distressed or panicked, he wasn't sweating nor did he seem to have been shifting much in his sleep, so Luna hadn't paid him a visit. The assassin recalled the events of last night; he, Ditzy and Dinky had gone to bed at nine, he had planned on waking up at two in the morning, Blood moon looked at the clock and found it to be one in the morning. He frowned, normally his body clock was rather accurate but he knew he'd woken up for a reason; he couldn't explain it, it was just in his gut and he always trusted his gut, it hadn't been wrong before. He looked around him, everything seemed normal but something wasn't right and he couldn't put his hoof on it; upstairs he could hear the soft sounds of Dinky and Ditzy sleeping soundly, outside he could see the dim glow of Ponyville's nightlife and in the air… smoke, there was smoke hanging in the room and the atmosphere was thick, there was no heat around him so it wasn't Ditzy's house that was on fire so there was that much at least. _Wait, that glow…_ the assassin trotted slowly up to the window and gazed out. What he saw made a stone drop in his chest. That glow wasn't the Ponyville nightlife _it was Ponyville itself. _He wasted no time; he galloped up the stairs and crashed through the door awaking Ditzy in a somewhat panicked fashion.

"Blood moon" she said, sounding scared at his sudden appearance.

"Ditzy, get up Ponyvilles on fire and I have to get you and Dinky out of here" he explained quickly, watching Ditzy's face grow more and more fearful.

"What's going on" a drowsy Dinky hooves asks from behind Blood moon, rubbing sleep out of her eyes and a stuffed…muffin in her grip. The assassin didn't respond, instead he used his magic to put her on her big sister's back before going over to the window and throwing it open.

"Ditzy, you need to get somewhere safe. Don't stop, don't dawdle and don't look back, return at noon" he ordered, much the same way a commander would tell his soldiers.

"Blood moon" Ditzy began, before pulling him into a soft kiss for a few seconds "be careful" she told him softly. The assassin smiled.

"I'm an assassin that has the blood on many on my hooves, whatever's going on in the town I can handle it" he reassured the mare. Ditzy nodded and took flight heading north. The assassin watched them go for a while before he turned back into the room and went down into the lounge, there he picked up and put on his vest, cloak, hood and belt and trotted outside then towards the town. Ditzy lived a short way outside the town and he arrived in ten minutes. He wasn't sure if he was glad he did.

The small and normally quiet town was in turmoil; most of the buildings on the edge of the town were ablaze, the flames cutting a path through the town as the occupants galloped for cover. It was apparent that none knew how to fend off the flames themselves properly, judging by the pained bodies of ponies that lay on the ground, not dead but defiantly wounded. The assassin raised an eyebrow _they aren't burnt at all; there are cuts and stab wounds but no burns, not many anyway. What's going on here _the assassin wondered as he looked over the ponies lying on the ground and judged their wounds; some were worse than others and those that were unable to move he pulled into alleyways and those that could move followed him to safety.

"Stay here and keep quiet" he ordered the ponies that were conscious. He got a few terrified nods in return, apparently they recognized him from the market "is this is some kind of attack" the ponies in front of him nodded in conformation "is there a spot where everypony is rallying" the assassin asked a mare with light mint fur and light cyan and white streaked mane and tail, she had yellow eyes and a lyre for her cutie mark. She was scared out of her mind, partly from the events around her and partly from the stallion before her. She didn't answer at once.

"Y-yeah… Tw-twilight's library" she stuttered. Blood moon nearly flinched, if that was where all the ponies were going then that was where the attacking forces where going, so that was where Blood moon was going but at the same time that was where Twilight and, most likely, where all her friends were. It was between the contract and the safety of Ponyville; not helping these ponies was the equivalent of killing them, considering that none of them could fight and whoever or whatever was attacking was willing to burn the place to the ground to get to their target so collateral damage was not high on their list of cares. He couldn't leave these ponies to die.

"What's the fastest way there" he asked simply.

"Strait up that street" the mare told him, pointing with her hoof up a street leading into the centre of Ponyville. This allowed the assassin to see what he was up against; changelings and lots of them. This confused Blood moon; why were they here, what was the reason for their erratic behaviour, these were the questions spiralling through his mind as he watched them tear the town apart, these question would be answered later for now he would have to fight and fight he would.

He galloped into the street, metal on leather echoing across the fight before him, drawing the attention of the changelings that were galloping riot throughout the streets of the quaint, little town. Three changelings advanced on him; the three of them were grunts, no bigger than the average pony but they were by no means ponies. Deep black bodies, a blue chitin back, bug like wings, blue pupil-less eyes, a curved black horn, a pair of fangs jutting out of the side of their mouths and the infamous holes in their legs. The three changelings were unarmed but they seemed confident in their numbers. Blood moon grunted.

The middle changeling darted forwards and went to hit the assassin in the face; the strike was dodged as Blood moon swerved to the left, out of the way of the changeling's right hoof, before he chopped his left hoof across his opponents neck and disorientated the changeling. Blood moon moved onto the left hoof changeling and wasted no time dispatching him, running him through the chest with his short sword, the well-tempered blade easily cutting through the chitin armour and drawing the dark green blood of the shapeshifter out across the ground and staining the killer's blade, the third changeling lunged for the assassin as he whipped the blade out catching him in the side, the blue chitin cracked and gave way as the weapon passed through and lodged itself in his ribs. The assassin left it there and turned to the first attacker, pushing himself up slightly on his fore-hooves before slapping his hooves on the changeling's ears stunning him and detonating some white bombs in his opponent's eyes. Resting on his fore-hooves again his left hoof shot into the changeling's throat; he staggered and fell, his windpipe bruising and swelling until no air could get through and suffocated. Turning his attention back to the last changeling he gripped the handle of his blade with his hoof and wrenched it free, green blood spurting out and the grating of bone on blade screamed from the wound. Weapon free, he looked up from the corpses and started forwards. Not forty-five seconds of cantering later more changelings appeared that the assassin engaged; two of them, more grunts, advanced on the assassin, who reached into his cape and grabbed three knives from their leather pouch, holding them in his hoof, and moved his leg in an arc letting them fly at the shapeshifters. Two found their mark, embedded deep in the left changeling's chest causing blood to ooze out of the injuries and onto the changeling's hoof which he held in front of his new orifices in shock before slumping down. The second went just as fast, as the assassin's blade sung across the distance and slashed the neck, causing him to fall to the ground chocking on his own blood. The assassin continued his trek to the library. Half-way there he came across a battle that was not his own; Sand Stalker was facing off four changelings, they had him surrounded and were grinning menacingly at the older merc who was glaring at the four of them with equal menace. The mercenary had his scimitar clutched in his right hoof and was spinning it gracefully, his body weight resting on his bent left fore-hoof, as two of the shapeshifters charged at the merc, what happened next greatly impressed the assassin; one second the elderly mercenary was there, the next he was beside one of the advancing changelings with his weapon buried in his enemy's neck, the merc proceeded to rotate his body and slam his right fore-hoof up against the other changeling's jaw, flipping him over and snaking his grip over the muzzle and wrapping it over the mane in a tight grip all the while wrapping his left over the throat and pulling, sharply snapping the neck. The Arabian merc then whipped his sword out and flung it at one of the other changelings watching his display of skill, impaling him through the fore-head. The last one was too taken aback to react to the mercenary that was galloping at him, Sand Stalker went onto extend his wings and with one powerful burst of power from them he was above the changeling and was dropping down onto him and slamming his rear-hooves onto his back, snapping the spine.

"Not bad" the assassin commented as he viewed the mercenary's hoof-work.

"What you get from forty years' experience" the merc shrugged. The pair took a moment to look around them. The pitch black night was illuminated by the fire working through the town, casting flickering shadows of the chaos around them, mares and stallions alike galloped and screamed some alone, some in pairs and others with foals on their backs, all around them changelings were wreaking havoc on the buildings, and attacking some of the fleeing ponies.

"Do we have a plan" the merc asked the assassin as he pulled his blade from the skull of the changeling that held it, a splatter of blood and grey matter following it out.

"Yeah, head to Twilight's library" Blood moon responded. If Sand Stalker had been drinking something he would have spat it out in shock.

"What, you wanna go to the place everypony in Ponyville, all of whom I might add hate your guts right now, will be" Sand Stalker demanded in a 'say what' manner.

"Yeah, if we're gonna help out these ponies the best we can do is help protect them and the best way to protect them is to help hold down the fort" he explained to a merc waving for him to stop.

"Yes, yes I know that. What I mean is that do you really want to go to the place your targets held up" the merc asked. Blood moon made his best effort not to lung at the merc and put a blade through his throat.

"How did you know that" he demanded his eyes narrowed in a fashion that made even the hardened mercenary pause for thought.

"Wasn't hard to figure out" he told Blood moon as they began making their way towards the library, blade in magical grip and the right hoof of the flying Pegasus merc. Between them they cut down changelings that attacked from all directions "first" the merc deflected a blow and cut off the fore-hooves of a changeling before continuing "you're an assassin in Ponyville. Not the kind of place our kind frequents without reason" he stopped talking as Blood moon dodged an attack and stuck his sword through his attacker's eye and ripped it down through the eye socket. "Second, asking about the elements of harmony lead me to believe" he deflected a concussive magical blast from a unicorn changeling while Blood moon gave him one of his own and knocked his target off his hooves, throwing him into another "that your hit had something to do with them" he darted to the side as a tendril of shadow shot up and snatched a Pegasus changeling out of the air before it crushed his ribs, lungs and heart under the pressure of it. The merc looked at the tendril that had just dropped a crushed changeling with a 'not bad' look on his face "so I got to thinking 'who out of the mane six, would be worthy of an Equestria class assassin to be hired to kill' so what are my options" three Pegasus changelings charged the mid-air merc; one was taken down by Blood moon throwing his sword into him, cutting strait through the spinal cord, while the other two were killed by Sand Stalker, one with his head flying in the opposite direction of his body, the other seeing his entrails on the ground below him. They continued after Blood moon ripped his sword out of the changeling before stabbing him through the heart to finish him "well there's Rainbowdash, the weathermare. Not the type that was well liked for her ego but she is an, admittedly, impressive mare so she's pretty well liked and well known ever since the young fliers competition" the merc finished with a grand flourish of his blade severing the wings off of three Pegasus changelings into the jaws of two shadow serpents and the lethal flash of blood moon's blade. Blood moon looked back at the two serpents; the shadows cast by the flames were doing a good job of keeping the darkness of the night away while casting their own shade on the ground allowing the assassin to latch his own shadow onto them, using a simple trick he'd learned when being trained in Umbra Linguam called 'shadow stretching' the simple act of moving the shadow of the caster over to other shadows to make use of the power they could provide the spell without having to be right next to them. The first serpent had eaten one of the changelings whole, it having fallen strait into its gullet. The second changeling was being ripped apart alive, his green blood and grey intestines being thrown about the place by the gorging black serpents as his gurgling screams echoed throughout the night.

"Boys please, have some manners" he told the great beasts that had erupted from the shadows. He got a snarl in return that caused him to laugh. Above him Sand Stalker was having trouble holding his lunch down.

"So, um…the other five" the merc said glancing back at the mutilated corpse "well there's Fluttershy the animal caretaker, she's got a darker side but she's pretty nice most of the time, again not a good assassin target. Applejack is the resident food supplier, main one at least, she's honest, hardworking and decent, kind of pony that looks out for her family and doesn't wrong others, again not the type to have a price put on her head" the merc dodged an attempted lung at him, grabbed the attacker by the tail and pulled him back onto his blade stabbing him through the heart, cleaving it in half "Rarity is one of the best fashion designer in town, maybe Equestria, she has some competition but not to that extent" he told Blood moon as he watched him stab a changeling in the eye with a throwing knife. The assassin had two changelings rushing him from either side, Blood moon proceeded to leap up and grab the mane of one and guide him into the other stabbing his horn into the changeling's comrade's eye, all while doing a fore-hoof stand, before dropping down to the side and keeping his grip on the changeling's mane and reaching over, grabbing his chin and snapping the neck, the added momentum given by the drop allowing him to spin the neck right around one-eighty degrees, leaving the head rotated at an unnatural angle.

"What about Pinkie Pie" Blood moon called up.

"Pinkie pie? Who'd want to, she's pretty much known throughout Equestria as the 'great party pony' everypony in Ponyville knows her and she's pretty well liked" the merc caught a knife out of the air and threw it back at the changeling that had thrown it meeting it's mark between the changeling's eyes "so that leaves" he dodged a swipe from a Pegasus changeling and struck him in the throat in return "Twilight sparkle. Leader of the elements of harmony" Blood moon rolled onto his back as a changeling grunt charged at him, using his rear-hooves to propel his enemy into the sky and the awaiting blade of Sand Stalker's scimitar which cleaved him cleanly in half "making her the target of focus for anypony" he moved his head to the side vacantly, avoiding a conceive blast from a changeling who was ripped apart by blood moon's serpents "or changelings or anything they've saved Equestria from" he told the assassin as he watched him grab the hoof of a changeling that had thrown a strike, twist it at an unnatural angle and then snap it so the bone popped out of the joint. He then went onto move into the changeling and snaps the leg at the joint that met the body, leaving the entire left leg mangled and busted in an ugly fashion before Blood moon clobbered him on the side of the head with the pommel of his sword, most likely causing brain damage in the process "she's got plenty of enemies, most of which have failed to defeat her face-to-face so hiring you to take her out from the shadows makes sense, then there's the fact that she's Celestia's student so anypony wanting to get to her could do so through Twilight" the mercenary explained as he impaled a changeling as casually as he would getting the mail. Blood moon looked up at Sand Stalker, now was busy wiping the blood from his blade and saw the mind of the pony that had lived through numerous things some good, most bad and saw that, despite his rather brutish exterior, he had the commendable mind of a detective.

"It's a long list then" Blood moon commented as they covered the final leg of their journey "of potential clients." He could see the tall tree before him in the distance and it appeared to be surrounded by changelings. The pair picked up their pace and galloped towards the line of changelings, Sand Stalker flew at a speed that seemed impossible for his age while Blood moon looked like a dark blur rather than a pony. The merc had sheathed his weapon and lowered his fore-hooves for Blood moon who leapt up and grabbed them in response, using Sand Stalker as a swing to get over the three changeling wide wall between them and the library. The assassin landed with his normal grace, while Sand Stalker simply pulled in his wings and dropped to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Around him three other ponies stood, facing off the changelings; Twilight, how was looking at him like she had expected his appearance but didn't want him there, the rainbow coloured mare how he suspected to be Rainbowdash and the orange earth pony that could only be Applejack, going off her cutie mark. The two of them looked at him in disgust.

"Great, just what we need; a fifty-five year old swordspony and a blood thirsty assassin" the Pegasus mare said sarcastically at the two blood stained fighters arrival.

"Yer darn lucky that we got ta' take care 'o these vermin" the earth pony told the assassin as she bucked a changeling in the face, sending him flying.

"Now's not the time for bickering girls" she ducked as a changeling lunged for her, how was quickly dispatched by a knife from Blood moon "we need their help."

"Help, how could that ancient Pegasus" she kicked two changelings that had jumped for her out of the air "help us, I mean look at him, and I'll bet he could probably barely lift that sword off his back" she commented, earning a glare from the stallion in question. She returned the look he gave her "you heard me" she yelled over to him. The elderly mercenary went onto unsheathe his blade and cut down two changelings that had dived for him, hoping to dig their teeth into him, by spinning gracefully and removing both their heads faster than anypony could register. Not done with proving the mare wrong he dived at two more changeling, smashed the face of one into the ground and used the dazed shapeshifter to beat the other senseless. Rainbowdash simply hovered there, her mouth agape.

"Do we have some kind of plan here" Blood moon asked Twilight sparkle as they stood side by side firing spells into the crowd.

"Not really" she replied "we were just trying to fight off as many as we could and hope they gave up" she admitted. She watched as Blood moon dodged a concussive blast, made bigger from the conjoined efforts of the three unicorn changelings that fired it, and levitate them into the air for easy targets for her, she picked them off as he held them there for her.

"Some plan" he shouted as his horn glowed it's dark aura and four shadowy tentacles erupted from the ground, throwing a bunch of shapeshifters into the air while the four of them ripped apart the remaining changelings. Twilight looked on in awe and horror; awe because of the spell she was witnessing, at its raw power and the complexity it surly had and horror at what it was doing to the changelings. She and her friends had been knocking out and disabling their attackers but this 'Blood moon' and the Pegasus he had brought with him were killing the changelings indiscriminately. She pushed the thoughts form her mind as best she could and focused on protecting her friends and town from the ever attacking changelings. Around her she could hear Rainbowdash and Applejack fighting off the changelings but she could tell by the slowing strikes from AJ and Rainbow's longer pauses they were becoming tired, not that she was any different; she had been on her last reserves for a while now. Reluctantly she approached the assassin, who was cutting down, throwing knives, casting spell and…was he humming to himself, Twilight frowned as she thought she recognised the tune **(A/N: To you and me, it's the MLP theme tune) **as she approached him.

"Do you have a way to get rid of them" she asked Blood moon, who in her opinion was having way too much fun with this.

"Maybe, but it will take a sec" he replied.

"Oh how cliché" the Pegasus in the beanie called over "we have to survive long enough for the massive, world ending attack to be ready. How long will it take, five minutes" he said sarcastically, all the while defending himself from the changelings.

"No" the assassin responded, teeth gritted and sweat pouring down his face, the glow about his horn reminding Twilight of the time she had 'vanquished' the Ersa-minor from Ponyville. As she was watching she heard screams coming from the crowd of changelings, she looked over and her eyes widened in horror. Flames, black flames as dark as the pony that created them were eating through the crowd of shapeshifters, burning them alive. The huge wall of dark fire was unlike anything twilight had felt before; it casted no light, instead making the area darker, it expelled no heat but gave off a strange sensation as Twilight's body prepared for warmth and got none just the cold air of the night, the torrent of fire reached high into the night sky easily standing taller than her library and it seemed about as wide as the crowd of changelings. She looked over at Blood moon, he had the look of ultimate concentration on his face and sweat was really running down his face now, like a mini Neighagra falls had spawned on his head.

After thirty seconds of the powerful spell Blood moon felt weak, an unfamiliar sensation that he often tried to avoid but the last spell he had performed; a very powerful shadow spell, even by Umbra Linguam standards had taken it out of him. His vision was blurred and he could feel his legs giving way but he held himself up, his pride being his only motivation. Before him was a wasteland, the dead and charred corpses of changelings littered the ground and the grass upon they had stood was black and dead, killed by the dark fire he had created. He was getting looks from the ponies around him; Sand Stalker was looking at him with a menacing grin, when he saw Blood moon notice him he gave a small nod and looked over the battle field; Twilight looked troubled, she wanted to thank him but couldn't bring herself to do so, not after seeing his methods _foolish mare really needs to open her eyes _he thought as he looked over at her and her debating eyes; the orange earth pony was much the same as Twilight but seemed to be leaning towards 'forgive and forget'. Blood moon knew why to, he had protected her friends and, if his theory about her family being in the library behind him, her kin; The rainbow coloured mare, however, was nowhere to be seen, the assassin looked around himself, suddenly paranoid, and spotted the looks of confusion the two mares were giving the space to the upper left hoof side of head, turn to alarm as he felt a blinding pain in his temple and the world dimmed, though not before he heard somepony, most likely the missing Pegasus shout:

"That's what you get for spilling blood in Ponyville!"

**A/N: New chapter woo! More fighting more woo! *ahem* So leave a review, follow, favourite or whatever. The feedback is appreciated and I always take into account any constructive criticism but for now..**

**Productive faffer out.**


	9. The unexpected friendships

Chapter nine: The unexpected friendships

Blood moon's eyes fluttered open, a pain running through his head, as he tried to remember what had just happened; his thoughts were foggy and disorganised but he was putting them back together. He remembered the attack on Ponyville, how the changelings seemed to be putting a siege on the town for whatever reason, he could remember joining the defence of the citizens of Ponyville just outside the library and…the Pegasus, the one who had knocked him out when his back was turned the spineless…the assassin looked around, took in his surroundings; he seemed to be in a room, a guest or spare room judging by the cramped space and lack of décor, he was lying on a warm, soft and welcoming bed that had relaxed his muscles in his sleep, which he now realised to have been dreamless yet again. The walls of the room looked as if they had been carved directly from wood, the light brown confines illuminated by the sun seeping in through the window that was uncovered by the light green curtains. The colour gave him a sudden jolt to the memory as he recalled the opening of so many changelings' hides and the blood that spilled from them. He grinned at the memory. As he continued to look around the room he frowned as he figured out where he was; simple room, carved strait from wood, in a spot where plenty of sun can get to it. He was in Twilight's library. He didn't laugh at the irony; instead he wondered what had caused the mare's sudden change of heart, though he didn't get to complete this train of thought as he herd hoof-steps outside the door and he watched it gain a purple glow before his target trotted in.

"Oh, you're awake" she said upon realising he was conscious. The assassin looked her over; she had taken in an obviously dangerous stallion, going off the bandages he now noticed on his head and the few around his body she had even tended to his wounds to. "How are you? Rainbow gave you a pretty bad head wound" she explained. 'How are you?' So few ponies had asked him that over the course of his life and the simple gesture that said 'I could give two bucks about you' meant a lot to him.

"I'd be better if a certain Pegasus hadn't hit me while my back was turned" he told her, his eyes narrowed. The unicorn seemed uncomfortable under his gaze, as most were, he could practically see her squirming under his stare. The purple mare gave a small, awkward laugh as he remained silent.

"Y-yeah…sorry about that, I guess she was still a bit freaked out by what happened" she said to the assassin, not meeting his eyes.

"Over what happened earlier or what happened the other day" he replied his head cocked to one side. The mare replied by closing the door and moving further into the room.

"I wondered how long it would take for that be brought up" she sighed, sitting on the other end of the bed. Blood moon could see that she was immensely terrified by being so close to him, the mere distance of about half a meter was not enough to hide that she disliked the fact that his presence was close to her own, although he had to admire her courage at getting this close without galloping away screaming "I talked to Ditzy about that, she's here by the way, and I've decided that after what you did outside the library and the reason for you actions against the stallions… you can't be all bad" she told him with a small, weak smile. Blood moon didn't know what to say to that, here was a mare, obviously scared of him, who was trying to create a bridge between them despite all he had done. The mare had looked up; finding the courage to look upon the stallion she knew could kill her without breaking a sweat and looked him in the eyes, they gave nothing about him away but they seemed so full of emotion and thought _an interesting paradox _she thought to herself. Blood moon was doing the same; his gaze meeting Twilight's as he read into her and there was _so much _to read; her life as Celestia's student, her time before Ponyville, her time here, what she had done for Equestria with the elements of harmony and her devotion to her friends. Though six things stood out the most in those purple orbs of hers: Loyalty, honour, kindness, generosity, laughter and above all _magic. _It was strange to him; he had seen magic in ponies before, mainly powerful unicorns and alicorns, but here it was as if rather than _having _magic she _was _magic, like she was a pony embodiment of it. _The elements of harmony _he conclude mentally, she was, of course, the element of magic _strange _the assassin thought _I know that if, say, Fluttershy were to die there'd be no kindness in the world but if Twilight were to die…would there be no magic in the world_. He knew then and there how this contract would pan out; with no blood being spilt, Twilight was just too good, decent and, above all, innocent to kill…but that begged the question _who did want her killed._

"So, 'I'm not all bad' huh. Well on that note would you like to know why I'm here in the first place" he asked the mare, whose face reflected caution and curiosity. She nodded her head slowly; like she wasn't sure she wanted him to continue "I was sent here, by pony or ponies unknown, to kill you Twilight sparkle." Time and space seemed to hold its breath as he said this, his words cutting their path between them as they struggled to make it to Twilight's ears through the thick layer of air between the two of them. Twilight's face, which had moments ago been an image of reluctant courage, now resembled that of horror and disbelief at the assassin's words; her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, no exaggeration, while her pupils retracted while remained locked on Blood moon, who was as calm as ever despite just revelling his intentions towards her. Twilight's mouth opened and closed as she tried to make words but nothing would come, all's she could do was wonder why she was not dead yet. The mare latched onto this single, rational thought as her mind spun like a whirlwind questions on everything in her head that could not be answered by herself, only by her friends, Celestia and the stallion sat before her, the stallion she had taken into her home, tended the wounds of and treated hospitably and who was now telling he had to kill her. She cleared her throat nervously and fearfully, knowing full well that whatever she said now could dictate the path her life took; either to her friends again or down to the morgue.

"B-blood moon" she started each word she uttered in a small 'squeak' that Fluttershy would be more accustomed to "i-if you're supposed to kill me, t-then why am I still alive" she asked him, her voice trembling at how this convocation could go.

"Tell me, Twilight sparkle; what do you see when you look at me" the stallion asked, as calm and as quiet as before. Twilight was taken off-guard by the question but knew that this was the only thing between herself and the blade she knew he wielded so professionally. She took a good look at him in the new light; his face was nothing special, he had the look of a pony in his mid-twenties, maybe a little older than herself, he had faint crow feet at his eyes and three deep lines on his fore-head. The scar going down his face was deep, old and ugly and did nothing to help his looks but his _eyes. _She'd heard stories from Rarity about all the 'eligible stallions' throughout Equestria and how, as she would put it, dreamy their eyes could be. She had even seen it for herself a few times when she had been living in the Canterlot castle with Princess Celestia during her studies, when a noble would bring their son along in an attempt to pair them off and gain a hoof-hold in the Equestrian royalty, their deep and sometimes thoughtful look would mostly complement a handsome face but here, it was different; he had no handsome face to complement deep, passionate eyes but the eyes themselves held mystery, deep and old knowledge, a dark sense of foreboding and experience. The unicorn already knew what she considered to be a secret concerning the assassin in her home, the fact he had to be over eleven-thousand years old, making him the oldest pony in existence, even older than Celestia even. She decided that if she was getting out of this she needed to catch him off guard and she had the perfect idea about how to do so.

"I see an eleven-thousand year old assassin" she answered. Blood moon froze, his whole body tensed and his muscles numbed, his thoughts clouded and his thinking halted, the breath he had taken and was about to release was caught in his lungs while his heart seemed to stop. He held his position for maybe thirty seconds, not breathing, thinking, moving and, if the lack of beats was anything to go by, his heart seemed to have stopped. To all intents and purposes he was dead.

Then he let it all loose; his muscles relaxed in perfect unison as his head fell back onto the pillow, his heart started up again at a rate way too fast for him to be relaxed at, his mind unscrambled itself as he processed the information that had just entered his brain for a second time, third time, fourth time and fifth time, all the while his breathing started again, deep and slow as he collected himself. The original plan had been for her to answer 'an assassin' and he would have answered back 'true, but I am no normal assassin' the convocation would then have lead into his reason for not killing her then an explanation about his code then answering of any questions. He had not expected this pony to be privy to knowledge only two others were supposed to know.

"H-how, do you know that" he asked at length, erg to kill rising steadily. Twilight seemed to catch on and she answered quickly.

"Well I did some research" she told him bluntly. The assassin, however, was unsatisfied with the answer and made a rotational movement with his hoof to signal her to keep going "after your 'first appearance' I was curious about the magic you used to get away from us. I recognised it as a form of shadow magic and, with help from a certain unexplainable pink pony, I managed to figure out the magic you had used was called…"

"Umbra Linguam" he finished "not many would be in their right enough mind to be able to identify types of magic just by looking at it" he said under his breath but loud enough that Twilight could 'overhear' him "let me guess, you found a list of all known magicians capable of performing that particular branch." He got a nod in response.

"When I saw the list I was a little confused, I mean who makes a list of the ponies that can use magic…but then I noticed how short it was" she explained "I noticed Celestia, Luna and Starswirl strait away but then I saw King Sombra and the name Blood moon" Twilight told the assassin, who's interest she'd perked at the mention at the great Starswirl the bearded "I went on to try and find out more about you but there was nothing but a few scraps which, I have to admit, is kind of impressive for an eleven-thousand year old." The young spell-caster appeared to be getting comfortable in the assassin's presence. _A few scraps are still floating around out there? I must be slipping _the assassin thought.

He sat back up and looked over at the purple mare, taking her in; she was definitely Celestia's protégé and by no stretch of the imagination would he ever doubt that fact, if only because she'd been able to gather information on him, a pony who'd always strived to stay invisible and unremembered. He chewed the inside of his cheek for a second in thought, the question he had asked himself 'who would want Twilight dead' was demanding an answer more and more, the more he learned about her. This mare had the ability to accurately name different breeds of magic before going on to find out his own preferred magic type, an impressive feet to achieve, alongside her impressive mind and natural magical ability she was becoming more and more... well perhaps 'impressive' was the only word for it, despite it being a bit of an understatement. Eventually he turned his attention back to her

"I can only guess a pony of your nature would have some questions for me" he told her.

"Yes, a few." Translation: don't expect to leave here any time soon.

"Understood. But first one for you; just what happened last night?"

* * *

Twilight sparkle couldn't believe what she had just seen. The amount of raw power she could feel from the spell was astronomical and she'd never seen it's like before; such destructive magic, she wasn't surprised it had been banned. She gazed over the chaos that Discord himself would be proud of; the scent of burned chitin and bug wings drifted over to her nose and she tried her best not to gag at the twisted smell; the burnt and dead grass was home to numerous equally burnt and dead changelings. The unicorn had no good thoughts towards the changelings, especially after her brother's wedding, but she felt that not even Queen Chrysalis deserved that kind of fate. She turned her attention away from the scene and looked at the stallion that had caused it; as she turned her eyes lingered on the stallion she had brought with him that was now hovering in the air sword in hoof, he was looking over at the assassin. She wondered who he was, she had not seen him around Ponyville much, one or two times in the market sure but never actually met him, she'd have to ask Pinkie Pie about him. Now looking over at the dark stallion she saw he was fatigued, out of breath, that last spell must have taken a lot out of him, though it was expected, the book she had been studying for the most of yesterday had told her that the longer the duration, the larger ground it covered or how much more generally powerful the more magic it took; the assassin's magic it seemed used a lot more magical energy than the normal spell it seemed. He was panting badly and looked to be having trouble staying on his hooves. She took a second to look over to her friends, Applejack was watching the weary stallion with the same indifference as she was but Twilight had a feeling that after protecting her family and friends, all of which were inside the library, she would be more forgiving. She wondered if she could do the same, he had killed the stallions in the market…but he had done it defending Derp-Ditzy doo hadn't he and the stand he put up to the changelings had been in defence of her friends, their family's and Ponyville as a whole. _Maybe he isn't all that ba- wait…Rainbow what are you doing _the sorceress thought as she watched the rainbow coloured mane Pegasus tip-hoof mid-air towards the exhausted stallion, hovering she reared her right fore-hoof. Twilight made a confused frown and was sure that if the older stallion inspecting the damage done could see her, he'd be right on her, she was also sure that Applejack was making the same confusion, turn alarm face as she was as she realised what the cyan blue Pegasus was intending; with a dull _thwack _she hit the stallion right in the temple with a strength that would have made Big Macintosh proud.

"That's what you get for spilling blood in Ponyville" she shouted in triumph as the assassin fell. Twilight just stared as he slumped on the ground, flank in the air, and face in the ground as he snored quietly. Twilight turned her head to the old eye patch clad stallion as she heard hooves thundering across the ground as he galloped over to her furiously, as he approached Rainbowdash straightened up in an attempt to hold her ground…despite being air-born.

"WHAT WAS THAT" he roared in a fashion that made event the headstrong Rainbowdash flinch "HE…he helped you and your friends and you just hit him in the back like some coward" he told her, right in her face. Twilight couldn't help but agree with him.

"H-he's right Rainbow…he did help us." The mare in question looked at her, mouth agape.

"Whoa whoa, what happened to loyalty to your friends" Rainbowdash argued to her unicorn companion.

"And what happened to honour in battle and standing by your comrades" the stallion argued back.

"He's not my comrade" the mare seethed at length "and I ain't any soldier gramps."

"It doesn't change the fact he stood by you Dash" the stallion all but whispered in a voice that reminded the watching unicorn of the assassin lying asleep at the scimitar wielding stallion's hooves. The flying Pegasus seemed shocked that this mystery fighter knew her name.

"Say, who in Equestria are you anyhow" she demanded "and how do you know my name."

"My name is Sand Stalker; professional blade for hire and I know you, Rainbowdash, because I knew your farther" he explained. The moment he said 'farther' Twilight's, Applejack and Rainbowdash's eyes widened; Twilight and Applejack because they knew how sensitive an issue that was for the vibrant coloured mare and Rainbow herself, well…

"DON'T YOU DARE EVEN MENTION HIM YOU BUCKER" she roared in what can only be described as the Canterlot voice turned to eleven. The use of vulgar language at that volume inevitably drew attention from the occupants of the library and Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie belle immerged from the library. The three fillies ran to their respective big sisters.

"Rainbowdash, please refrain from using such language in front of the foals" Rarity implored. The she spotted the assassin knocked out/asleep next to Sand Stalker "oh my" she said at a terrified length "it's him" she looked around herself and took note of the wasteland "did he do all of this" she whispered, just loud enough for everypony to hear. Rarity, Applejack and Rainbowdash were all holding their little sisters (adoptive in RD's case) in vice grips but none of them seemed to care, considering how scared they must have been.

"Jus' what in tarnation is goin' on here anyhow" Applejack demanded, filly in fore-hooves "Jus' who's side is he on" she asked everypony but not expecting an answer.

"Ha, this is Blood moon you're talkin' about here, _the hunter_. You don't know who's side he's on till the last second" the Saddle Arabian merc told them.

"Uhhh…um"

"And how does that help us? For all we know he's tryin' to kill one of us, tryin' to get on our good side so he can get close" Rainbowdash argued. _Kid you have no idea how close you are to the truth _the mercenary thought with a sideways glance to Twilight.

"Uhhh, we should really get him-"

"Please, this is no time for arguing; we've got most of Ponyville cooped up in there and we've got a whole bunch of…dead changelings out here. We've gotta figure out what to do with them" Twilight interjected.

"While that's true, there's the stallion who-"

"Twi's got ah point there; we can't be jus' leavin' all ah these changelin's here. What ah we gonna do" Applejack agreed.

"B-but what about the stallion-"

"We get these civilians out of here and have any remaining guards take care of the corpses" Sand Stalker told her with a shrug.

"But Blood moon-"

"And just who in the hay made you the boss around here, GRAMPS" Rainbow demanded.

"I-"

"And who didn't make me the boss, FILLY" the merc countered.

"QUIET" Pinkie shouted at the top of her lungs, bringing herself a little off the ground in the process, before floating back down like a bubble "Fluttershy's been trying to say something" she told them in the most polite manner known to pony, with a huge, unexplainable grin on her face. They all turned towards the Pegasus in question, who was stood close to the unconscious assassin. She shrank back a little at the large amount of attention.

"W-well it's just that I-I've been looking over his wounds and h-he seems to be losing a lot of blood, so-so I was just wondering if we should take him inside and try and heal him...I mean if that's ok with you" the yellow Pegasus asked, finishing her sentence with an adorably small 'squeak'.

"No way, why should we help HIM out" the blue flyer argued. The animal tender shrank back a little more.

"W-well he did help you protect us" she whispered from behind her mane.

"Finally, somepony who speaks sense" Sand Stalker told them, matter-of-factly.

"Ah'm with Fluttershy on this one Rainbow. He did help protect everypony" Applejack told the Pegasus.

"So am I" Twilight agreed.

"Oh come on, not you to Twilight" Rainbowdash groaned.

"I'm sorry Rainbow but this argument isn't in your favour; Sand Stalker, Applejack and Fluttershy are all making good points. Besides, without him these changelings would likely have gotten to Scootaloo and the rest of the cutie mark crusaders" Twilight argued. This statement caused the Rainbowdash to look down at the orange filly in her fore-legs. Nopony noticed but she had a somewhat loving look on her face.

"Low blow, Twilight" she muttered. Said unicorn trotted up to Pegasus and put a hoof on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry but we can't just leave him here." The unicorn trotted over to the assassin she identified as 'Blood moon' and levitated him onto the awaiting back of Sand Stalker, before she lead the way inside.

"Take him over to the spare bedroom, it's up the stares, second door" she told the mercenary wearily, the events of the day catching up to her. The old stallion simply nodded and trotted up to the room she had directed him to, she couldn't help but notice that he was unnaturally quiet in his hoof steps but she was glad for it, she didn't want Spike waking up.

"Hey Twilight, what's going on." _Rats _she thought, as she recognised the voice.

"Oh, nothing Spike" she told the drowsy looking dragon, as he rubbed his eyes.

"Don't look like nothing" he replied, looking around the library filled with a large bunch of ponies.

"Just-just do me a favour and go see if everypony is alright, ok." Spike gave a small salute in return as he went around to all the ponies hanging around the library. In the end only Twilight's friends, Sand Stalker (who had reappeared from upstairs) and the unconscious Blood moon remained. While Twilight's friends gathered in a corner, Twilight herself trotted over to the mercenary who was stood by himself in the edge of the library; he was looking through the books on Equestrian history or he looked to be, as Twilight noticed he kept looking over to Rainbowdash.

"So, how do you know them? Rainbow and Blood moon I mean" she asked him as his back was turned to her, he turned his head to before answering her.

"I met Blood in a bar; we met, exchanged words, had a few drinks" he grunted to himself "we we're pretty fast friends" he said, a smile in his voice but not on his face. Twilight smiled at his words.

"Friendship is magic" she said, a little merriness in her voice as she quoted her leanings over the past few years. The merc looked over an eye brow raised and a lopsided grin on his face.

"And wouldn't you know about that, Twilight sparkle" he told her, putting heavy emphasis in her name "and, for the record, I met Rainbowdash through her dad, who I also met in a bar. She, apparently, doesn't recognise me despite my being around her most of her foalhood. That said, I did stay out of the limelight so it's no wonder" he looked over at the mare who was glancing their way now and then "Rainbowshine, her mom, and her father, Blazing trails, would always make small mentions of 'ol' uncle Sand'" he told her, a laugh in his voice "always sayin' that she would never be alone as long as there was sand or shade near by."

"That reminds me of the assassin's song" Twilight commented. The stallion shook his head.

"Nah, that's Blood moon" the stallion argued. Twilight had a confused expression on her face, the Pegasus sighed " _cold windy nights, _look outside" he told her. The unicorn did as asked and looked out the window, seeing the branches and leaves waving at her from outside the library "_pray the assassin will watch over your plight, _now be honest with yourself; were you hoping he would show up?" Twilight took a second to think before she nodded her head, admitting it to herself as much as she was to the mercenary. He smiled and nodded "either way, Rainbow's parents asked me to look after her but..." Twilight could sense the dark cloud looming in his mind.

"What happened" she pressed, trying to be gentle with somepony that had some obviously painful memories. Sand Stalker just shook his head, an act that cut off the convocation without dispute.

"Anyway, enough of this; I'm an old, tired and cranky stallion and you have an assassin to look after" he told her as he trotted away, not giving her a chance to say anything. Twilight just sighed and headed towards the stairs that lead to the spare room but as she got half-way up an ever timid and hovering Fluttershy stopped her.

"Uh, um Twilight a-are you going to see to that s-stallion" she asked, her hooves held behind her back as if she were explaining to her mother where the last cookie had gone.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Oh-oh I was just wondering if you needed any h-help with him" she asked her from behind her mane.

"Uhh, sure but, if you don't mind my asking, why?" Fluttershy clopped her hooves together nervously before answering.

"W-well it's just that Pegasus" she told the unicorn, glancing over at the mustard stallion who was still gazing over the books and taking periodic glances over at Rainbowdash "he-he scares me." Twilight sighed sadly, _Fluttershy, I swear to Celestia, your scared of your own shadow._

"Don't worry about it Fluttershy" the sorceress told the animal lover, putting a hoof on her shoulder "but are you trying to say that Blood moon doesn't make you scared" she asked, doubting her friends logic a little.

"Well he'll be asleep...won't he" she said, a worried tone in the latter part of her sentence. Twilight giggled slightly as she led the way up the rest of the stairs. In the spare room Twilight found the assassin laying on the bed and for all intents and purposes, seemed to be sleeping soundly, a bubble expanding and contracting as he breathed. Twilight couldn't help but think of a napping colt. The two proceeded to remove his garments, the unicorn making sure Fluttershy didn't see the leather belt. Once he was fully undressed the pair came across a nasty sight; Twilight and Fluttershy's eyes widened, the unicorns jaw hung low while the Pegasus put a hoof to her mouth in shock. Blood moon's body was _covered _in scars; some small nicks, others large, brutal and undoubtedly deep wounds, most of his back had ridges and bumps from being sewed up by an unpractised hoof, his stomach also had the same type of hastily repaired damage, Twilight noticed the older looking scars were not as well mended as the newer ones and she could only draw one conclusion; _he must have stitched them up himself._ Twilight could now properly see the scar on his face, now that his hood was gone, and saw...just how _bad _it looked; she had to admit, she hadn't thought much of his face before but now she could see his face with the scar... it was deep, badly stitched, she could still make out where the needle and thread had gone in and out before being, from what she could tell, brutally ripped out and it did nothing for his looks

"B-by Celestia" Twilight whispered. Fluttershy simply gave a terrified nod in response. Twilight looked over his body and spotted a blank spot on his scar ridged body "say Fluttershy, notice he's got no scars on his chest?" Fluttershy looked closer at his chest and noticed he had, indeed, no scars on the front of his body.

"H-how do y-y-you think that happened" Fluttershy asked her bookish friend, who looked over at the vest she had removed form him and noticed something _odd _about it, though clothing was not her strong suit so she decided to leave that to Rarity. A second look across the assassin revealed around five open cuts, relatively new, and that his wound, courtesy of Rainbowdash, was leaking blood about as badly as Fluttershy had said it was.

"Well...lets get to it" Twilight shrugged as her horn glowed and Fluttershy picked up some bandages Twilight kept in here for just such an occasion. Between them they patched him up rather well within around twenty minuets, before deciding they were too tired to anything more and went to sleep. Though for all of the mares in the Golden oaks library had dreams plagued by black fire, a flashing blade and a hooded stallion.

* * *

"...and that's pretty much what happened" Twilight finished. Blood moon, who had, had his head hung as he listened intently, looked up and nodded once.

"So it's because of you and the yellow mare that I woke up to find myself here" he looked the mare in the eye "why show me such kindness?"

"Well you protected me and my friends... and you haven't killed me have you, besides that kind of behaviour should be expected from the element of kindness" she explained with a smile on her face "you know, you still haven't explained why you haven't killed me."

"First rule of conduct; never kill an innocent" he told her bluntly "but whatever the case, you have my thanks..." Blood moon looked into the void for a second before he grinned "it occurs to me I owe you my life" he told her, an amused grunt in his tone.

"Well not really, your more robust than most other ponies I've met before."

"Well, my general comfort then" he said with a smirk.

"Well if you insist on owing me something, let it be a comfy bed" she said with a giggle. Blood moon grunted again.

"I suppose I should make amends with your friends then and get it over with" he said after a long pause. Twilight nodded as the assassin stood up on his hooves, wobbling slightly, and made his way to the door. The two made their way down to the main part of the library, where Twilight's friends were gathered, before stopping at the foot of the stairs and looking at the mares and stallion gathered down there.

"Hi..." Blood moon said casually.


	10. Second impressions

Chapter ten: Second impressions

The library was filled with a strange sense of stillness; not the same as when the assassin revealed his original intentions to Twilight, there it had been a sensation of total personal awareness like you could feel the electrical impulses running through your body, here it was like everything had gone numb; outside faded from existence, the room became incredibly stuffy and the unavoidable feeling of being watched hit everypony in the room. Blood moon eyed the mares and stallion situated around the largest portion of the library; Sand Stalker was in a corner of the room, keeping an eye on everypony but he seemed to be in a position that gave him the best view of the rainbow coloured mare, who had been lounging mid-air before the killed had arrived, now she sat beside the orange mare, Applejack. Both mares had a foal with them; Applejack had a small filly yellow fur, red mane with a light red bow in it and big, orange, innocent and young eyes; Rainbowdash had an orange fur, purple mane; styled somewhat similar to Rainbowdash, she was also a Pegasus and had eyes similar to the young in the orchard workers hooves, except she had light purple eyes. The Pegasus noticed the unicorn watching the filly and reached over to her and pulled her close to her in a protective manner; the younger of the Pegasi feigned reluctance but allowed herself to be pulled into the elders embrace. _Trust, it seems, is lacking _the assassin thought as he turned his attention away from the mares and fillies.

Across the room, a little ways, sat three other mares and another filly, all of which he remembered from the market, save the filly, who sat with the white mare. The white furred mare held the filly tightly and said filly did nothing to object; the young had a two tone mane and matching tail, pale pink and light purple, while her fur matched her, presumably, big sister's white. Her eyes, light green, following suit of the other fillies in the room. Accompanying the white furred mare and filly were a pink mane and tailed mare, she reminded the assassin of the pink mare from the market but her mane and tail had too much…'poof' was really the only way to describe the bubbly style of her mane and matching tail. Her eyes made the decision, however, that this was the same mare as before; she had the same sky blue shade as the thoroughly depressed mare as the one from the market who had been holding the other pink mane mare… who was cowering behind her.

"Blood moon" a familiar voice asked, he scanned around the room, more hope in him than he ever would have had before he met the mare he thought it belonged to, and he couldn't help but crack a relived smile as he saw them; pale purple and grey fur, two yellow manes and a pair of unfocused eyes, the face that held them concentrated on the stallion that was at the bottom of the stairs that was looking at her with a kind of care she had never seen in somepony's face before. Blood moon trotted over to them, thanking whoever was listening that they were alright, he stopped in front of the pair, a weight in his chest he hadn't noticed before lifted, as he looked them both over.

"Ditzy, Dinky" he said, voice full of relief and happiness at their wellbeing. Not many knew how the assassin felt about those he cared about when it came to protecting them. _Old habits die hard I guess _the assassin thought as he concluded the two were ok.

"Are you alright" the mare asked looking over his bandages "we saw the flames miles away…are you hurt."

"Miles, how far did you go?"

"We went to north, like you said, a little ways to Cloudsdale" she took another look over her new found special somepony "are you sure you're ok?" The assassin gave a small smirk before answering.

"I've had worse than this, trust me on that." Ditzy pouted a little.

"How come you get to worry about me but I don't get to worry about you" she asked, reminding the assassin of a filly slightly. He couldn't help but laugh at the absurd question.

"Because, I have experience with this kind of thing, when I start having trouble with delivering mail, then you can start worrying" he told her, getting a small giggle from her. The stallion turned his attention to the filly beside the mare and lowered his head to her "and how are you…" he asked, finding it impossible to mask the concern in his voice. Dinky didn't answer at first, instead grabbing the assassin and hugging tightly.

"I-I was really scared when the fire started" she told him. Blood moon admired her courage in admitting her fear, he knew from experience that most fillies and colts acted brave and found it hard to swallow their pride when it came to this sort of thing. The dark stallion returned the hug before straitening up and looking at the pair who had so readily taken him in to their lives, the pair he now found himself caring for so greatly. He wondered how he would have reacted if he had found them injured…or worse, it surprised him went he felt an uncomfortable knot in his stomach when his mind went there.

"Well, I'm glad you're both-" he was cut off by Ditzy planting her lips on his, startling the stallion but by no means upsetting him. The short lived embrace was witnessed by everypony in the library, all with mixed expressions; Sand Stalker smirked, Twilight gave a small smile, Applejack, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had large grins on their faces, Rainbowdash and Scootaloo gagged and Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy gave an 'awww' in unison. Done with the public display of affection, Blood moon turned to the five other mares in the library, they had all gone to off to do their own thing, he was glad for this as it allowed him to talk to them individually; Fluttershy was loitering around with Rarity and her little sister nearby, Pinkie Pie was talking with Rainbowdash about something, the assassin had caught the words 'cute', 'party' and 'cupcakes', while the filly with the rainbow coloured mare was watching him intently, Twilight had gone over to Sand Stalker and Applejack was busy reading to her seemingly tired sister. Figuring it was time to get this under way he approached them steadily; Fluttershy was first on his list, wanting to thank her for her help last night. It was the fact that he was a very dark assassin and she was a bright coloured animal caretaker that almost made him grunt in amusement as he trotted up to her and watched her shrink back the closer he got.

"Fluttershy isn't it" he asked, using a voice he normally kept for scared fillies "I believe it was you who insisted that my wellbeing was seen to." He got a squeak in response. "You have my thanks" he told her simply. He knew from experience that ponies, especially timid one's like Fluttershy, had a hard time getting comfortable around him so he decided not to press the subject further, though as he turned away he heard the tiniest, most quiet and low voice he had ever heard.

"Y-you're welcome" the butter furred mare spoke up, though perhaps 'spoke' was the wrong word, considering that she spoke at an octave that was barely audible to the keen hearing of the assassin. Blood moon turned back to the mare and leaned down to her, she was hiding behind her mane and was curled up on the floor, and spoke in a quiet, near silent voice that only himself and Fluttershy could hear.

"Why show me this kindness" he asked. The assassin had already asked this of Twilight sparkle but he was unsatisfied with the answer he had gotten from her.

"W-well you would have been all cold out there, all alone" she offered. _I would have bled to death, more like _the assassin thought. It was clear that this mare was uncomfortable around the idea of serious wounds and was reluctant to mention it. Ironic considering she had the only real knowledge of treating such injuries of all these mares save Twilight "and I couldn't just leave you out there after what you did."

"Well either way, you took notice of me when everypony else was busy squabbling and because of that I didn't have to deal with bleeding out, and that wouldn't have been any fun, believe me" he told her. The mare smiled slightly at the bad joke. Turing to his left, the assassin found the white furred mare watching him, a fearful and unsure look on her face, while the filly hid her face in her sister's body and held her all the more tightly.

"I-I don't believe we've been properly introduced" the unicorn mare stammered "I am Rarity a-and this is my sister Sweetie belle."

"Rarity…I believe I saw some of your works on one occasion in Canterlot" the assassin told her, remembering a fashion designer he had once put a scare into for stealing the designs of another fashion designer. Not the most common of contracts but a contract all the same. The assassin was plying a different tactic in winning her over, in hopes that appealing to her passion would make this easier on him "most impressive" he finished. His efforts pay off as the mare straightens up and gives him an appreciative smile.

"I didn't take you for a stallion with an eye for fashion" she admitted to him. The assassin notice a glow return to the mare as she became more comfortable around him and couldn't help but be taken aback slightly by the beauty she now radiated, now that she was in her comfort zone. The stallion's mind set off at a galloping pace, figuring out how best to deal with this mare, and before long he knew exactly how to act before her. He shot her a roguish smirk that he had perfected at a young age and leaned in dangerously close.

"All good assassins have an eye for detail mi 'lady." The mare practically swooned at his words.

"M-my, quite the mare killer aren't we" Rarity said with a flirtatious bat of her eyelashes.

"Wait, how did you know about-never mind." Blood moon turned his attention to the filly, who had been watching the whole exchange with curios eyes, and noticed how she shrank back once his attention was focused on her and he leaned down to her level "and you young one, Sweetie belle" he rolled the name around his mouth before he turned his full attention back to her and gave her the same smile he had given her big sister "pretty name for a pretty filly." The foal blushed slightly at the complement, turning her head away in an attempt to hide it. The assassin stood up straight and turned before trotting away grinning a satisfied grin as he went, pleased with his progress with winning over the mares. On his way towards Applejack he caught Sand Stalker clamping his mouth down and his cheeks inflated as he attempted to hold down a laugh that was trying its damnedest to escape it's master, Blood moon trotted over to him for a second to mutter;

"And that, mares and gentelcolts, is how we do it." The elderly mercenary had to clamp down harder and take a shuddering breath to steady himself. After the short fiasco the assassin made his way over to the apple bucker and stood in front of her and her sister, both of which looked up at him as he approached.

"Howdy" the elder greeted him simply.

"Mornin' pardner" the assassin responded straight faced. The two continued to stare each other down, Blood moon with a lopsided grin on his face and a smile steadily growing on the face of the orchid worker who found it impossible to stay straight faced after watching the conversation between the assassin and Rarity.

"Ah suppose a thankin' is in order" the mare sighed as she ran a hoof through her younger sibling's mane. Blood moon shrugged.

"Think nothing of it" he told her. The mare chuckled.

"Not many folk out there how would go sayin' 'think nothin' of it' to fightin' off a bunch ah changelings" Applejack drawled.

"Yes well, I wouldn't be right nor proper to have left your kin helpless, besides" he took a moment to look down at the filly who was gazing up at him with wide eyes before running his own hoof through her mane with a gentleness he reserved for foals and foals only, the filly seemed against the idea at first but she noticed how soothing his touch seemed to be and let him continue "I know what it's like to lose a filly close to you." The whole room seemed to go quiet at this comment and all eyes were locked on the assassin who had gone misty eyed as old memories came creeping back to him as he continued to tussle the filly's mane. After a few seconds Blood moon abruptly turned away and trotted slowly over to where his most challenging target was sat; Rainbowdash. Though, as he trotted, nopony knew that the assassin was beating down the memories with a big mental stick and he was fighting back tears valiantly.

"What do you want" was the rainbow coloured mare's greeting. The stallion felt a very sudden frustration rise in his chest as he sat on his flank in front of her with a heavy sigh.

"To make peace" he was blunt, frank and in no mood to be prancing around the point here. There was something about this mare that put him at the end of his fuse.

"Yeah right, you don't fool me" she told him, eyes narrowed as she said it. She also seemed to subconsciously pull in the filly. Blood moon noticed this and his plan of attack was obvious, simple really; exploit the weakness. He turned his head down to the foal and looked her over for a few seconds, the assassin was smart enough to know when two should be sisters but aren't and that was just going off of the pain they shared.

"You care for her greatly, don't you." A statement not a question. The mare looked down at the filly in her fore-hooves and Blood moon saw her facial expression turn from suspicion and, put simply, hatred to one of care and affection.

"You keep her out of this" Rainbowdash hissed as she looked up at the killer.

"I should know" he continued like she hadn't said anything "I practically raised two foals myself, fillies to boot, before we grew apart" he paused and took in the once again silent atmosphere before he approached a very sensitive topic "orphaned?" He watched as both the filly and mare's eyes welled up at the mention of the subject of being parentless. It was all the answer he needed.

"Me and Scootaloo lost our parents pretty young, we both had nopony for a while and it was some time before I found Twi and everypony and Scoots found Applebloom and Sweetie belle" she trailed off as the filly in her grip tightened her hold on her would-be big sister. Around the library the rather heart wrenching exchange was watched with an air of strange unease; the elements of harmony had always known that Rainbowdash had been on her own since a young age but nopony had ever approached her about it and the same went for Scootaloo. There was also the way she was acting right now, Twilight couldn't help but wonder how this stallion had managed to get through to Rainbowdash in such a way that he had her clutching her adoptive little sister so tightly with tears threatening to spill, however, she couldn't help but find it somewhat adorable.

"But friends weren't enough, would never be enough for somepony in your position…you needed family and that's where you both came into it" he finished for her. Rainbowdash simply nodded. The assassin watched as the mare and filly continued to hold one-another as they compensated for the other's loss. "You were wrong you know" the mare looked up at the stallion in confusion "if you ever need to talk to somepony or just want somepony to give you the kind of care that only a parent or maybe an uncle can give" he leaned further in and a devious grin spread across his features "look no further than the sand and shade." The Pegasus was confused at the last remark but said nothing, the assassin looked to the mercenary as he straightened and saw that the merc had his eyes narrowed in a fashion that thanked the assassin in a grudging way, as though he didn't want anything getting out about his connection but wasn't unhappy about the hint either.

Blood moon then proceed to turn to his next target…or a least where he thought she had been. The assassin looked left and right in a confused fashion as he tried to find the mare that eluded him before he caught Rainbowdash giggling slightly beside him, looking over to her he saw that she was looking at a spot above his head. As Blood moon turned his head up he saw the beginnings of a bubbly, pink mane and as he continued to turn his gaze upwards he found a pair of sky blue eyes peering down at him.

"Hi there, I'm Pinkie Pie" 'Pinkie Pie' told the assassin on which she stood. Blood moon just blinked, standing there somewhat confused.

"You're…standing on my back…aren't you." The assassin had a strange sensation of expecting to feel her weight on him but could simply feel her hooves on him with no pressure behind them. The pink, bubbly mare looked back on herself in confusion before looking back at the dark, confused assassin.

"Am I? I am aren't I, sorry I hadn't noticed." The assassin had the sudden erg to find a dark corner, sit down in it and cry and for a little while "y'know, you remind me of my daddy" Pinkie told Blood moon suddenly, who, like most of the other ponies in the library, frowned.

"I…what?"

"You remind me of my daddy; you're dark coloured, he's dark coloured, you're pretty old, he's pretty old and both of you are pretty grumpy" Pinkie Pie explained in a voice and with a smile that was way too cheery for what she was talking about. As she spoke Blood moon watched as she got less… perhaps the only way to describe it was 'Pinkie-ish'. He realised that he had to pull her out of this thought track before she became a mass a blubbering equine.

"You're still on my back y'know" he told her, in an effort to change the subject.

"I know I am, It's just that you're reeeeeeeeeally comfy" she said as she moved her hooves around in an effort to increase said comfort.

"So…you're saying my back…is comfy" Blood moon asked a doubtful look on his face. Pinkie nodded her head rapidly, the assassin sighed and let the magic flow to his horn, pictured himself a meter or two to the left and let the rush of magic flow as the teleportation spell flashed as he disappeared and reappeared. He looked to his right and watched the mare realise she was no longer standing on anypony; she flailed around mid-air for a few seconds before dropping to the ground. She gave a small huff and looked over at him with a pout on her face.

"Party-poopin' stick in the mud" she muttered. Blood moon got a sudden stroke of genius and trotted over to the mare, a smile on his face, before leaning in and whispering into her ear. Pinkie Pie's face turned from a puzzled frown, a confused gape of her mouth, her head looking down in thought and as the assassin got to the last words of whatever he was telling to the party pony she exploded into laughter as Blood moon leaned back pleased with himself.

"What did you tell her" Rainbowdash asked in confusion.

"Well since there are young ears present I'll spare you the details but what I will tell you is that it consisted of; a bucket, a pickaxe, five goats, a bandit and five gallons of cider, none of which was consumed via the gullet." Everypony in the room gave a synchronised 'huh' as they watched the stallion sit there smirking to himself and Pinkie Pie roll around on the floor howling to herself as she held her sides. Looking over the pink pony the realisation hit him like a dragon had just sat on him (not a nice experience); he'd just made friends with five mares. Not even in a manipulative manner ether but in an actual pleasant and perfectly honest way. The assassin looked over at the elements of harmony once again all of them, save Pinkie Pie who was still laughing, looked back at him with a much warmer expression upon their face, even the fillies seemed to have taken a liking to him. He smiled at his work; he'd gotten everypony in the room on his side and he couldn't help but smile at it; never had he really had many friends, no true friends anyway but here he was in the company of the _elements of harmony_, the mares who represent the aspects of friendship and despite how he had first met them, he had won them over

Though in light of his happy and light hearted thoughts and emotions he knew that all good things came to a close and this particular close was heralded by Blood moon's realisation that somepony had wanted to rip these mares apart. His eyes narrowed at the thought of the six ponies turning their backs on each other. He gritted his teeth at the idea of six real friends being pulled apart for someponyelse's twisted gain. His blood boiled when he thought of them lying cold and alone. His hatred roared when he thought of them getting away with it. His question held; _who would want Twilight dead? _The answer was in the form of a pony and the grin he formed when he thought of what he would do to them, would have made Celestia, Luna and Discord quake in fear at the simple memory of it.

As he trotted back to Ditzy's home, Dinky ridding on his back, he thought about what had happened during his relatively short time here. He had arrived with the intent to kill somepony, then he had met his target and decided against it. Now he had a new quest. He had a new contract.

Find whoever had wanted Twilight sparkle dead and return the favour.

**A/N: Yay new chapter. so this one took a little longer than the others...or maybe it didn't and I'm stuck in a time/space singularity lapse...again. Anyway enough of my blabbering I'm just here to say that the reason it took so long is because as I'm sure you've noticed it contains a lot of interaction between blood moon and the mane six and I wanted to get it just right. So drop a comment on you're way out (pleeeeeeeeease) and I'll see you next chapter.**

**Productive faffer-no wait!**

**The other day I had an idea for a new fic, a crossover for MLP and Skyrim(said in a Nordic voice lol) and I was wondering if anyone/pony out there had an opinion on it. No seriously I'm gonna be THAT vague, anything you can think of; weather or not to do it, any ideas you may have(preferably a PM in that respect) and weather or not to start before I finish assassin's song. So, for reals this time,**

**Productive faffer out. **


	11. Beginnings

Chapter eleven: Beginnings

Blood moon awoke; he felt his dream escaping him, flittering away and out of his grasp. He frowned, that had happened to him before and it was not a nice feeling, like something just out of reach, that one tormenting inch away from his hoof. He put his hoof to his temple and made circular movements in an attempt to be rid of the ache threatening to emerge, he felt the rhythmic pulse of pain begin as the headache starts up as he got up off the couch he had called 'bed' for the last few nights. He felt dizzy alongside the headache and knew what was up with him; the sweat on his body was enough to tell him he was dehydrated but to accompany it there was the dry throat and pounding ache behind his eyes that had started in earnest. He trotted over to the kitchen, contemplated grabbing a glass and stuck his head below the tap before turning it on and gulping down the water. Fifteen seconds of this and he straightened up and gulped down air just as greedily, he turned as he sensed a presence behind him.

"Better" Dinky asked him, a smirk on her face. The assassin smiled down at her.

"Much, seems going a few days without water isn't good for your health" he told her like he had just figured it out.

"They already taught us that in school" the filly told him as he approached.

"Really, you foals grow up so fast these days" he murmured to himself as he trotted past the filly "by the way" he said at length, turning to her "when do you start going back to school?"

"What do you mean start going back? I never stopped" she answered, her face confused.

"What?" It was the assassin who was confused now; the town had just been attacked and the school wasn't under repairs. Dinky answered his unasked question.

"The school was out of the way of the changelings and the only real damage to Ponyville was the roofs being burned and the unicorns can fix that pretty easily" she explained to the stallion. All's Blood moon could do at the filly's amount of knowledge was blink.

"You foals grow up way too fast these days" the assassin muttered as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Hey Dinky, mornin' Blood moon" a drowsy sounding, and looking, Ditzy called over from the stares, she had shaggy hair and tired eyes, not like her at all.

"You…ok sis" Dinky asked, making it obvious that she had not seen her elder sibling like this all too often.

"Sleep well" the assassin asked sarcastically, as he looked her over.

"No, had a bad dream" she told them both as she scratched her mane.

"Nightmares normally come from things we fear, fear comes from what we don't understand" Blood moon told her sagely.

"What? How does that help" Ditzy replied to him, still only half awake.

"Tell us what your dream was, maybe we can help you understand it, thus help you overcome your fear." Ditzy looked a bit overwhelmed by this but complied all the same.

"It was the fires around Ponyville-"

"Hold it. That was what had you scared" Ditzy nodded her head while the assassin stroked his chin before looking up at her "pyrophobia maybe?" Ditzy shook her head.

"No, it won't be anything like that" she paused and seemed to be in thought "besides I'm sure it's nothing" the mare looked over at her little sister "you ready for school yet?"

"Yeah, but are you ready to take me there" she responded. The assassin almost laughed at the question.

"Yeah I'm fi-" She didn't get to finish her sentence as she tripped over her own hooves, landed on her face and put herself in a…compromising position.

"Sis" Dinky squealed, partly in worry for her but mainly in embarrassment at seeing her rear-end in full view. Blood moon, on the other hoof, just sat there and enjoyed the show.

"I don't think you're thinking straight enough to be able to go anywhere without an escort Ditzy" his face lit up as he recognised a chance at escape "I'll come with you" he suggested, forming it as if he had plucked the idea out of the air. In actual fact the assassin was looking for any way out of the house; being cooped up had a track record of making him go stir-crazy but he had no excuse to leave, if dropping off Dinky at school was available, however, he'd take it. Ditzy looked unsure.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean with all that been going on you're bound to get some mixed reactions" the mail mare asked, sounding like she'd just taken some observant pills. Blood moon just brushed her off.

"It'll be fine" he assured as he threw his cloak over his back "who'd approach anyhow" he got confused faces in response "known killer, deadly assassin and I won't be stirring up too much trouble so staying incognito won't be a problem" the dark stallion explained as he opened the door and ushered them out.

It was, as usual, a bright day in Ponyville; few clouds were in the sky and Celestia's sun shone down in all its glory, in Ponyville it was as Dinky had said it, pretty much all of the damage that had been done the other night had been repaired and life went on as normal. The assassin looked around the streets and was definitely getting some odd looks from the town's residents; some were weary of him, some were sending smiles his way and others remained neutral, simply not noticing him or not caring about him. The journey to the schoolhouse didn't take long, Blood moon and Ditzy moved at a slow canter and Dinky sat on the assassin's back, a sensation that the killer felt was as fulfilling and meaningful as a perfectly performed contract. When they arrived at the school fun definitely ensued; the parents looked over in horror at the mail mare's company and most of the foals seemed to follow suit. A mare in specific trotted over to them; deep purple fur, green eyes and two tone pink mane and tail. She had a cutie mark showing three flowers with smiles on them. _Teacher _was the assassin's mental sum up of this mare.

"Why hello there Ditzy doo" she greeted them cheerfully. She took a second to look over the assassin, though couldn't get a good look at his face due to the hood "who's your friend" she asked. In response, Blood moon lifted his hood off of his head and looked her dead in the eye. He watched as she almost feinted at the sight of him.

"My name is Blood moon" he told her simply. Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to form words and failed, she blinked rapidly as if one random speck of dust was obstructing her vision so much as to make her see the assassin and not some other darkly coloured stallion. After a few seconds of staring she shook her head in an effort to regain her composure.

"Hiya miss Cheerilee" Dinky called over the top of Blood moon's head. The teacher seemed to brighten up again as she noticed the foal.

"Hello Dinky hooves, why don't you go on inside and I'll catch up to you" the filly nodded before leaping off the killer's back, she hugged her big sister goodbye and did the same to Blood moon before galloping off towards the school house. Cheerilee wasted no time in leaving the assassin and Ditzy by themselves and going over to other parents. The killer watched as she left them with no small amount of distaste aimed at her for her somewhat…judgmental reaction to him.

"Howdy there Blood moon" a familiar southern drawl called over. Said assassin turned to his right and found the owner of the accented voice.

"Hey there Applejack" the killer replied as the orchard worker approached "what brings you to this neck of the orchard?" _Ba dum, tiss… _was all the assassin could do in reaction in response to his own rather awful joke.

"Ah'm jus' droppin' off Applebloom" the apple farmer looked at the stallion and mare before a large smile adorned her face "well don't you two make jus' the sweetest couple." The assassin could feel Ditzy next to him and he almost thought that she had gotten closer to him as the southern pony arrived. He had no desire to talk about his love life, however, and chose to turn the conversation to something useful.

"Say Applejack, you know anypony who's got work" he asked not wanting to stay in Ditzy's house for too long at a time knowing full well how…odd he could get, remembering a time when he'd experimented with standing on his horn. It hadn't ended well.

"Well we could always use an extra hoof or to down at the farm, that is, if ya'll don't mind gettin' your hoove's dirty" she told him.

"My hooves haven't been clean for a long time and I'm no stranger to manual labour" Blood moon retorted, wondering how many meaning's they took from that.

"All righty' then, if y' like yew can come with me to Sweet apple acres now, Applebuckin' season has jus' come in and me 'n Big macintosh need as much help as we can git" the orange pony explained. The assassin shrugged and turned to Ditzy.

"I guess I'll see you later then" the stallion told the mare, who kissed him goodbye in response. The bright and dark ponies trotted away from the schoolhouse in relative silence for a while before Applejack decided to make conversation.

"It's so nice ta see love blossomin' between to ponies" the mare said. She didn't get a response; instead the assassin lowered his gaze to the ground and hummed his agreement. "Somethin' botherin' ya there sugarcube?" Blood moon didn't know how to respond to her question, that last embrace between him and Ditzy left him troubled. It pained to admit it to himself but he couldn't put his hoof on it, there was just something _off _with it, like there should have been something there but wasn't, though he had never had any real relationships with anypony before; flings, two week romances, dating somepony for a contract and on one particular occasion he'd fooled himself into thinking he'd liked somepony so he could protect them. He was roused from his thoughts when a hoof waved in front of him. "Blood moon" Applejack asked at length, knowing well when somepony had gotten lost in their own thoughts by listening to Twilight's rants on occasions "ya'll still in there?"

"Yeah, just… a lot on my mind" he explained with a shake of his head.

"Well, if yew like ya'll can talk to me about it. Ah'm a mighty fine listener. Besides 's always nice ta be able to talk with somepony while ah work."

"Sure, whatever" the assassin responded half-heartedly "maybe it'll be nice to get somethin' off my chest."

"Great, and would yew look at that; we're here." The pair had stopped at the gate of what looked like a pretty rundown farm; a small farm house was the first thing that caught the assassin's attention, it held similarities of the homes of most of Ponyville's residents but had a definite 'country' feel to it, the second building was a lard red barn that look like it had seen much better days. What stood out most though, were the _trees. _Hills rolled into the distance and every one of them had trees planted all over them, not a spot of bare grass visible as far as even the assassin's eyes could see. "Welcome to sweet apple acres" Applejack proudly announces as she throws her left fore-leg in a grand flourish in an introduction. The assassin could only gaze over the fields in half awe and half indifference.

"Well, you weren't lyin' when you said 'acres' I guess" was all Blood moon gave in response. The two trotted down a small lane towards what the farm-hoof described as the 'east field' and found themselves at the edge of a towering mass of apple trees.

"D' yew know how to buck apples?" Blood moon gave her a 'bitch please' look before he removed his hood, belt and cloak, setting them on a nearby barrel, before heading over to a tree, turning, leaning forwards and lashing out with his powerful rear legs. He was rewarded with a satisfying 'THWACK' and a steady tumble as the apples fell into buckets around the tree.

"That answers your question?" Applejack gave an appreciative whistle as she inspected the dent, the BIG dent, he'd left in the bark of the tree.

"Not bad sugarcube, ah must admit ah don't think ah've seen a unicorn with as much grunt in him as yourself" she lined herself up to her own tree and kicked, watching Blood moon do the same "jus' why did you focus so much on your body anywho? Ponies like Rarity and Twi don't give all too much consideration for their physic or at least the labour side to it anyway."

THWACK

"Well I'm smart enough to know that magic can't solve all of life's problems and that sometimes you gotta take things into your own two hooves to get it done."

THWACK

"An' jus' how did ya'll figure that out. Surly yew had magic yer whole life?"

THWACK

"That's just it. I've been alive long enough to know that a well-placed hoof is as effective as a well-placed spell."

THWACK

"That brings me onto another question…"

THWACK

"Jus' how long have you been alive?" There was a long pause in which Applejack braced for the sound of hoof on tree but nothing came, instead just a silent assassin and her own breathing. Now that he had only his vest on and there was a lull in the efforts to dislodge the fruits she got a good look at him and she was as surprised as she was unsurprised; Fluttershy had told her about the condition of his face and the description had not done the disfigurement justice, his bland face covered in wrinkles and that ugly scar on his face gave him a look that would look more at home on Shining armour, what with the worry lines and battle scars, this was what didn't surprise her. What did surprise her was his toned and muscled physic that could only come from hard work and labour, not training in a gym but real work, the kind of thing she could respect. The orchard worker allowed herself a brief moment of weakness as she appreciated his build and allowed her mind to wander as she looked at him with sweat running down his fur, making it stick to his body.

"Applejack, it's rude to stare" the assassin commented as he smelled under his fore-leg, before pulling away sharply in disgust. Applejack, meanwhile, had frozen to the spot. _What in the hay was that, he didn't even look at me, how did he know that ah was…_she stopped the thought track and regained her composure, save the blush that stubbornly adorned her face.

"A-ah wasn't starein' ah was jus'…jus' uhhh. Are yew gonna answer mah question or not?"

"May as well" he answered with a laugh "my lungs have drawn breath and my heart has been beating for around fifteen thousand years now" he told her casually. Applejack, for the second time in a minuet, froze in place but she wasn't sure why; it could have been the way he was so casual with being older than Celestia herself, the fact that he was still in his prime or maybe that he never seemed to act his multiple century year old age.

"M-mah stars" was all the mare could say "ah-ah didn't expect you to be THAT old."

"I'm not surprised" he said with a shrug. Millions of questions flooded into the mare's head but she couldn't get a hold on her thoughts, instead she resorted to standing there blankly as Blood moon got back to work.

Hours passed. The two had taken to working in silence, only the rhythmic 'THWACK' echoing through the still air. Morning had turned to noon and noon turned to evening, all the while the ponies continued to buck trees, only resting once throughout their shift. By the time six had rolled around the two had worked their way up a hill without realising it and now had a beautiful view of the Celestia's setting sun. Applejack had opted they call it a day and admire the work of the princess of the day. Unbeknownst to Blood moon, Applejack had been setting her thoughts straight and had a few questions planned for the assassin. Sat against a tree, in the light of the setting sun, the orchard-hoof looked over to the blade-for-hire.

"So, how do ya spend fifteen thousand years?"

"I'll tell you, in exchange for a question of my own" he told her with a sly smile.

"Fair 'nuff" the mare replied, who then proceeded to spit on her hoof and hold it out to the stallion. Blood moon looked down at the hoof, unimpressed, before shrugging and following suit "information for information."

"You sound like the leader of the thieves' guild" the assassin muttered.

"Ya say somethin' sugarcube?" The assassin shook his head.

"Any way, to answer your question; what does one do to spend fifteen thousand years…" Blood moon suddenly clicked what he had gotten himself into, realising she'd fooled him into giving up his life story. He looked slowly over at Applejack with narrowed eyes, the mare just gave a very unconvincing innocent 'what, me' look. "Well the first thing to understand is that I'm not naturally immortal, not like Celestia or Luna, no, instead I have been cursed with unending life."

"Wait, that's a curse?"

"Look at it like this; all my friends die around me, I can't get too attached to a mare and I know that I can't do buck all about it" he snarled, slipping out of his preferred calm manner "I'll never be able to have foals as I know I won't be able to take watching them die before me and I'll be damned before I ever actually die at the hoof of another!" Applejack was torn; on one hoof she felt for him, he'd lost everypony close to him and there was nothing nopony could do about it, long story short, he'd been through what she'd been through, ten-fold and wanted to go over to him and put a supportive hoof over his shoulder; on the other hoof, however, the ferocity of his words had her recoiling and it took all she had not to gallop for the hills. She watched as he took a long, shuddering sigh to steady himself and she saw a different pony for a brief second; no pride, none of his usual darkness, his radiation of strength, power and control evaporated and he just looked…_weak _and old, this stallion who had so easily and readily protected Ponyville from the changelings and she had caught him at one of his weakest moments, thought it only lasted for a second, if that.

"So jus' what happened, to make you the way you are?"

"I…I was raised in a training facility in a programme what was known as the 'Shadow initiative', a sort of experiment crossed with a trial and error test of a new breed of magic, magic that, at the time, had only just begun being developed and explored…"

"Umbra Linguam" the two said in unison. The assassin bowed his head, not in shame or regret just in weariness.

"That particular brand of magic was…unique…in more ways than one; for one it required a ritual to be available to mage; secondly it was a particularly dark style of magic but in ways nopony knew, it could corrupt the wielder in ways nopony could imagine; and there were also certain…requirements to be met for one, as per said, this was a dark breed of magic, still is, and only ponies of certain qualities could use it also this magic is not cheap and a sacrifice is required, normally taking form of a curse."

"Like what?"

"Well in my case, as we've already established, I lost my mortality. King Sombra was sent power crazy and went hungry for crystals and Starswirl…well we don't talk about him anymore…"

"W-what happened to him?"

"Well let's just say that, that particular curse was more subtle than most others." The two stayed in silence for a few minutes, Blood moon looked over at the setting sun and couldn't help but feel a prang in his heart; he'd shown her how to do them best, shown her a few things, he was by no means an artist but he had a good eye for detail and the transition from light to dark held a special place in his heart. In his perpetual vision, however, he had a much more spectacular sight; Applejack, in the orange rays of the sun which was doing a magnificent job of turning her orange fur to a shade of bronze a goddess would be jealous of, she had taken her hat off and had let her mane, turned golden in the sunlight, flow majestically in the soft breeze that flowed between them. Her half-lidded eyes had a darker shade of bronze upon them and the way she had them half open…well let's just say it reminded the assassin of an incident that had left him with a satisfied grin on his face as he climbed out of the window of the mare's room. Her crushed emerald eyes themselves were doing nothing to stop the spread of heat hit his loins.

"Not nice to stare Blood moon" Apple jack quotes with a mischievous grin on her face. Said assassin shrugs.

"Just enjoying the view." The remark earned him a blush from the mare that could rival the look of embarrassment she had given him earlier when he had noticed her staring. He would not lie to the mare, element of honesty and all that, and he had to admit it to himself; he definitely liked this mare, if only because she appreciated the smaller things in life.

"So you gonna keep admiring the scenery or carry on."

"Well I wasn't born into that facility, I was discovered when I accidently preformed a spell, 'hide' to be accurate, and barely a day after three stallions came for me. I had been alive for three years, hugged by my mother nine times and watched my dad bail-out on us twice. He was a dis-loyal drunk and she was a moronic sell-out. As you can imagine, I didn't care for them all too much. One of my earliest memories was when my mother bartered for a decent price for me. In the end it cost her, her life." Applejack was at a loss for words, she couldn't remember her parents well at all, they had died soon after Applebloom's birth, when she had been around seven years old. It was that what had been the final push that had sent her to Manehatten, before she came back but what she could remember was that they were kind, honest and decent ponies that she had loved very much.

"So what happened after?"

"Well to cut a long, tedious, somewhat boring and rather painful story short; I was trained for one purpose and I was trained well for it. Twelve years were spent honing my skills in shadow magic so I could, as they called it, start the transaction. That was when I was made immortal."

"Jus' what were they trainin' yew for?" Blood moon took a long breath.

"I was trained, for a good one-thousand years, to end the rein of Discord. It was my sole purpose in life to end the life of a god. What they didn't tell me was what they wanted me to do afterwards." Applejack gulped.

"An wh-what was that."

"What they wanted me to do was help them maintain their own control of Equestria, once Discord was out of the way. I decided that, out of spite, I would not kill Discord for them, so once I found that out I struck out against them and escaped, I went off on my own."

"But wait, yew'd been in that facility most of yer life." Blood moon nodded once.

"Exactly; no-where to go, I didn't know anypony and nopony believed I was a master assassin but after about ten years of scraping together contracts I was finally thrown a bone, a bone in the form of king Nocturnal and queen Illumination. Celestia's and Luna's parents." A cool breeze past them both, a few leaves following in its wake, as he said this. Not many ponies spoke about the princess's parents and many others didn't really know about them. "I was approached by them, they told me that they were getting ready for a war with Discord but Illumination had fallen pregnant. Now, as you can imagine, a war zone is not the best of places to raise a foal, there was also the fact that the filly likely was to have attempts on her life made, so they needed somepony to watch over her while they were off planning this up-rising."

"An that was yew, ya'll was Celestia's foalsitter" Applejack laughs. Blood moon gives a smirk of his own.

"Yep, the infamous Blood moon, the hunter, the never seen, caught or killed assassin used to change Celestia's diaper" the assassin waited for the farmer to stop laughing "I knew at the time I was living in the gutter so any work was good enough for me. I took the job and not a day later I was introduced to the new-born Celestia" the assassin gave a sad sigh as he remembered the days long past "I was her keeper, her protector and her best friend for five hundred years until Luna was born, it was then I had my duties expanded; Celestia was still at the development stages of a seven year old so it was like I had two children to juggle. The only thing that stopped me from jumping out a window was that they got along and I had the help of their nanny, the one who took care of them when…my other duty called" he looked up as he tried to remember something "I think her name was Faust or something" he gave up after a few failed attempts at confirming this "any way life with two princesses under your wing was actually rather simple; just follow them around and make sure no harm comes to them. I made a mistake though. I got too attached to them; they got too attached to me, Luna more so than Celestia, but still. When the war finally came to an end I felt the need to go down a different path than the aristocrats and politics, not my seen, instead I went back to being an assassin full time. I maintained the ruse of being mortal, centuries became years and months became days, for all intents and purposes I've only been an assassin for ten years but in actual fact it's been ten thousand." Applejack nods.

"Ah get it."

"The problem was that neither of the princesses could forgive me for it, they saw it as me turning on them, becoming the very thing I had protected them from for a good few thousand years and they never really got over it. To this day they hunt me down" _and if Luna was anything to go by, that particular chase is about to come to an end. _"So, in a nut shell, that is how you spend fifteen thousand years."

"Well, that there is quiet the story" the mare comments, Blood moon smirks.

"Yep, I win the ol' 'dramatic past tail' every time. So now a question for you; where are your folks?" Even as he forms the question he gets his answer from the way Applejack seems to deflate.

"They're…they're in a better place" she says at length.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, they was good ponies looked afta me an Big mac good before they…passed away." The assassin nodded before he raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What about Applebloom?"

"Ma died givin' birth and Pa died soon afta. The doctors never really did find out what happened to him but ah always thought he died of a broken heart." The mare had begun to well up at these memories, she turned her head to the killer and took one look at his face and almost broke down; he had the exact same look of concern her father gave whenever she got like this. "Blood moon, is it right that ah still haven't gotten over it" much to her surprise the assassin nods.

"The loss of a parent or carer is one of the most difficult losses you can deal with, having them there for all of your life before they're so cruelly taken away. It's one of those things that we aren't really supposed to get over at all, if only because we fear forgetting them if we do."

"Ah-ah suppose that makes sense."

"Come on, we should get back" the assassin says abruptly as he stands up. Applejack doesn't complain as he leads the way towards where they had started. As they trot through the trees the dark stallion looks over to the mare. "Just remember Applejack; you don't have to face all of life's problems alone, you have your family and your friends, don't forget that."

"Trust me, ah already learnt that lesson" she says with a laugh. The assassin holds his gaze for a second.

"But did you take it to heart?" Nothing is said after this, the two simply trotting back to the barn. Once they arrive blood moon finds a note on his hood and cloak. "The hay? _Applejack, bring Blood moon to the library when you're done with done with the harvest. Twilight." _he reads. The assassin looks over to Applejack who shrugs.

"Well, better not keep 'em waitin' shud we?" The assassin grunts in reply and follows her to the library. As they go he notices something wrong with the small town; for one there are very few ponies on the road and most of the lights of off in most of the buildings. "Well here we are" Applejack announces as they reach the front door of Twilight's library. She steps aside so Blood moon can go in first, looking over the home/tree/library he notices that the lights are out, signifying that nopony's home or…

He smirks as he opens the door.


	12. Cupcakes

Chapter twelve: Cupcakes

Placing his hoof on the doorknob, he could practically hear the swift intake of air as the, presumably, large group of ponies inside prepare to bombard him with whatever they plan to bombard him with, though as he turns his hoof the orange mare besides him, stalls his efforts.

"Blood moon, ah gotta know; jus' what did ya'll mean by 'did yew take it to heart'?" The assassin turns to Applejack and lowers his hoof from the door, once again, he can practically hear the ponies inside exhale and he could swear he heard Pinkie pie say 'darn it' before somepony shushed her.

"Applejack, tell me just what it was that taught you that lesson."

"Tryin' to do the whole applebuckin' harvest mahself" she supplies, earning a grunt from the dark stallion.

"Huh, Applejack tryin' to harvest the whole of sweet apple acres out of sheer pride I guess" Applejack looks away sheepishly "why am I not surprised" he wonders aloud, a smirk on his face. "Anyway, from what I can tell, asking for help with physical stuff is the kind of thing your pride can handle, you know your limits. But can you swallow your pride enough to talk about what troubles you on the inside as well as on the out? Remember that you can always talk to your friends about that sort of thing, as I said, you don't have to face it alone."

"Ah-ah know that…"

"Then why am I the only one you've talked to about it?" The mare was beginning to get annoyed, subsequently she got more aggressive; her teeth gritted and eyes narrowed.

"Ah don't have to explain mahself to yew" she almost shouted, thankfully aware that they were having this talk just outside a building full of ponies.

"Really, then why do I have to do the same for you?" If Applejack was wearing armour, that would have been the chink in it as her resolve slowly crumbled and her will to argue vanished as he posed the question.

"Darn, how'd ya'll git so good at this" she asked, her head hanging in defeat. Blood moon simply laughed.

"Raising two fillies, then protecting two teens and finally acting as an advisor to two generals, tends to give one a bit of experience in the art of arguments" he answers "now if, you don't mind, I am rather curious as to why you didn't actually tell anypony about the way you felt about your parents." Once again, the mare looks away, this time in shame rather than embarrassment.

"Ah…ah jus' didn't think nopony would understand 's all." This elected another laugh from Blood moon.

"Are you kidding? Rainbowdash is as much an orphan as you are, hay, so is Scootaloo. Actually, now that I think about it, from what I know, out of the nine of you, that's three without parents. That's… pretty bad." His comment was crude but true. Applejack raised a hoof to her chin, she'd never noticed before. "Anyway, enough of all the sadness, you've got her and you've got-" he didn't allow himself to finish the sentence. That was what he would say to Luna or Celestia whenever they were down and the phrase had stuck in his memory. _Anyway, enough of all the sadness, you have her and you have me. Don't you forget that._ The catchphrase of sorts was usually followed by a hug.

"Yes?" Applejack pressed him with a look of…hope, on her face. Blood moon steadied himself. Using this phrase brought back a lot of memories, not one of them did he really want to recall.

"And you have me. Don't you forget that." He wasn't sure what the response to that would be, his instinct told him that he would have two small, filly legs wrapped around him before the filly went off to find their sister. What he got instead were the powerful legs of the shapely Applejack wrapped around him and her southern drawl in his ear.

"Thanks sugarcube, it's good tah know that ah got somepony to talk to." Returning the embrace with a small grin, Blood moon responded.

"What, you didn't have anypony to begin with" the stallion asked, referring to the elements of harmony.

"Well, what ah mean is, it's nice to have a stallion around who can listen yah know" she gave a small chuckle. "All the other stallions in Ponyville are ok but they're only afta one thing, if ya know what ah mean…" the country mare disengaged the hug and took a few steps back. "Ah guess, ah'm jus' tryin' to say it's nice to have a stallion to talk to, kinda like a farther figu-" Applejack stopped herself, eyes wide and looking down in disbelief in herself. _'Father figure? Where'd that come from, ah don't think of him like a daddy do ah. Do ah? NO, ah don't that's impossible, ah don't need some random pony ah jus' met to treat me like a filly. Ah don't need some stallion who treats me good, looks jus' like mah pappy and makes me feel safe to look afta me. No, no ah do not. Not at all.' _She looked up at Blood moon, who had noticed her sudden silence and was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "W-what ah was sayin' was, i-it's nice to have friendly stallion around." The confidence in her voice left much to be desired. Blood moon had his suspicions and acted on them with little to no pause for thought.

"Tell me, Applejack, what was your relationship like with your dad?" Said mare, steadied her stance and resolve once more.

"Ah loved mah daddy, an' he loved me" she turned her gaze up "not that it's any o' your business."

"Do you miss him?"

"Of cause ah do, what kinda filly don't miss her pappy" she asked, a little defensively. Blood moon cocked his head to the side.

"So, who fills that particular role now?" Applejack gave no answer; instead she locked her jaw and tried to fight back the tears that threated to spill.

"D-darn it Blood moon, why'd yew have to go askin' all o' them question?"

"Simply trying to get you to see reason" he shrugged.

"What'd yew mean 'see reason'? If ya'll are tryin' to git me all blubbery now, don't bother. I'm a might tougher than your average filly."

"Well, that explains why you practically broke down when you almost said 'father figure' then" he remarked, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I commend you for not lying but bending the truth is not much better." This seemed to push Applejack over the edge, what with him insulting her honesty.

"That's enough Blood moon, I've had it with all o' this; tryin' to get me all sad n' vulnerable by askin' about mah pappy! It's cowardly ya hear, jus'-jus' plain cowardly, goin' afta what ah care about most, so ya'll can get a rise outa' me!"

"What's cowardly Applejack" the assassin almost snarled "addressing things nopony else will, talking about the sort of things, not even you, will go on about. Actually giving a damn!"

"Shut up Blood moon, Jus' shut up ya hear! Ya'll are goin' too far!"

"Why? Because only stallions much older than yourself, who can protect you, know what you're going through, and have been going through for most of your life, and could give two buck's about you because of it, only that kind of stallion can ask you about your dad?"

"EXACTLY" she roared, caught up in her anger, in a very none-Applejack like manner before she could realise what she had said. Blood moon, on the other hoof, simply sat back on his flank and watched as Applejack trotted right into his trap.

"So what part of that, am I not? I'm not young, that much we've established; I have no problem looking after anypony, just as long as their pride doesn't get in the way; I've lost pretty much everypony close to me; AND, I care about anypony who's worth it. Applejack, you are an excellent mare; talented, honest and dependable. You are most definitely worth my time and atten-" His sentence was cut off when, Applejack wrapped her hooves around him again, in a soft and gentle embrace once again. She had tears running down her face but the assassin could feel a small smile on her face.

"D-darn it Blood moon, jus' how did ya'll git so good at making ponies cry." The assassin had to laugh at that one.

"They aren't tears, just a release of emotions. They're nothing to feel bad about. Just let them flow, to be honest; those who can cry are stronger than those who cannot. It shows they still feel." He felt her pull in a bit harder.

"T-thanks Blood moon, it's nice to know ah got somepony to talk to. An…an' ah'm sorry for what ah said." The stallion grunted.

"Don't worry about it, I've had worse. A lot worse, I'm talkin' what you just said, coming from two fillies and said in the Canterlot voice." Applejack gave an amused grunt of her own. "Now come on, we can't keep Twilight waiting" he told her as he released the mare from the hug and moved his hoof back the doorknob. Putting his hoof on and turning, he could once again hear the collective intake of air as the group of ponies, who had undoubtedly heard his and Applejack's 'discussion'. Pushing the door open he heard what could only be described as the traditional Canterlot voice, turned to eleven.

"SURPRISE!"

Blood moon stood in the door way of the library, the air around him being blown around him violently by the force of all the voices while the assassin remained a stoic and still rock of calm in the sea of chaos that surrounded him. As he stood there a pink blur rushed towards him from the crowds.

"Wereyasuprised?Wereya?Wereya?Wereya?Huhhuhhuhhuhh uh?IrealisedyouwerenewtoPonyvilleandiwaslikeGAAAAA ASPwhenIrememberedthatIhadn'tthrownyoua'WelcometoP onyvilleparty'soIknewIhadtogetonereadyforyouand…he eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey. How come you're not shocked by the huge 'SURPRISE' Mooney?"

"For starters, it would take much more than" he took a quick head count "forty ponies shouting 'surprise', to shock, scare or actually surprise me." The pink mare looked to be upset by the fact she hadn't been able to surprise him, sitting on her flank with her lower lip wobbling. The ex-foalsitter leaned in with a small grin on his face, moving until there was barely an inch between them before saying "pickaxe." The reaction was immediate; she lit up and fell on her back, holding her sides as she laughed hard. Blood moon looked on with a smile on his face. "Oh and by the way, 'Mooney'?"

"Yeah! 'Blood moon is such a… sad name, so I decided to give you a nickname Moooooney. Anyway, I like to give all my friends nicknames." 'Mooney' had to physically restrain himself from face-hoofing. He had always taken pride in his name, it was nothing if not fitting, but was no stranger to nicknames; the hunter, cloak and dagger, black hood and, as Luna and Celestia used to call him, old uncle Blood moon or 'Uncle Blood' for an easier time on the tongue. But 'Mooney' was maybe just a bit too…Foalish, that said Pinkie pie was not the most mature of mares, so he figured he'd just let it slide. Before he could reply, however, Pinkie pie had leapt up into the air, turned while airborne in a rather marvellous display of 'screw physics' and trotted back into the crowd while shouting "LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" The assassin put a small grin on his face at Pinkie's antics as he trotted into the crowds, keeping his head down and hood up as he went. He was stopped by nopony, thankfully, as he made his way to an isolated corner to watch the goings-on from a distance. The mares and stallions mingled, small groups forming, while others helped themselves to the food available or just danced to the music being played. Blood moon looked over to the mare behind the music booth; she had stark white fur and an electric blue mane, her eyes covered by a pair of shades. Her horn glowed blue as the dub-step music was spun on the record players masterfully by the deck-jockey. The pony noticed the assassin watching her, putting the music on a loop she made her way over.

"Like the beats" she asked over said music. The assassin shrugged in response.

"I always preferred rock or classic. Maybe blues if I'm in the right mood." The mare looked halfway between insulted and interested.

"Classic and rock huh, let me guess, you like the old stuff?" The assassin gave a grunt at her choice of words. _Kid, you don't even know the half of it _he thought with a smirk on his face.

"Sure, who doesn't; Hooves and roses, Iron mareden, AC-DC (Anti Celestia Discord Children), Black saddle. All of them classics and you can't beat the classics."

"Yeah, well DJ PON-3 is strictly tecno." The assassin raised an eye brow.

"PON-3? Vinyl scratch?" She lit at the mention of her name.

"Yeah" she went quiet and appeared to be in thought "do I know you?"

"Probably not, but I've heard of you." This was a half lie; it appeared that she couldn't remember that time they'd both woken up on the roof of the Canterlot palace with little memory of what had happened last night, booze in the air and the pair of them smelling of sex. That had been a weird, but somewhat pleasurable day.

"Well duh, it only makes sense that you've heard of the best DJ in Equestria" she replied with no small amount of pride. What she did next took Blood moon by surprise. "Especially since we're already very well 'acquainted'. I was wondering if I'd ever see you again" she whispered as she leaned in, dangerously close, speaking in a low and seductive tone right in to his ear as her left hoof caressed his chest and strayed south on him. "It's good to see you Black hood" she told him, the last two words punctuated in a way that made Blood moon wish he were not in the middle of a party and instead in a room furnished with nothing but a bed. Or back on the roof in Canterlot, either worked for him. What she called him sealed the deal though; 'Black hood' was the pet name she'd given him when they'd met in Canterlot, on one of the assassin's R and R periods, when they'd…gotten to know each other.

"So, you can remember that little misadventure" he asked, a smile on his face that screamed 'you're damn straight you remember that night'.

"You kiddin' me? It doesn't matter how much we drank that night, I don't think my thighs would let me forget." If the assassin had been drinking something he would likely have choked on it.

"You always were a little minx, Vinyl" he said with a laugh.

"And you were always a smooth talker."

"Well, you would know about my, silver tongue wouldn't you?" The mare's white fur did nothing to hide the blush that kissed her cheeks as she remembered one of the few things that she had retained from that night.

"You always knew how to make a mare blush too, didn't you Black hood" she told him as she sat down next to him. It amused Blood moon that it was only the mare that sat next to him that knew this; his training as an assassin had been more than just how to use a blade and stick to the shadows, it had also taught him how to talk his way in and out of any situation. A side-effect of this was that he knew how to talk to mares better than most others, and that was made evident through his constant flirting with most of the mares he came across. Yet another side-effect, this one caused by the lack of female interaction for the first thousand years of his life. He caught sight of movement out of the corner of his eye and noticed Vinyl moving her hoof so she could move his hood, caught in the act, she froze. He smirked as he guessed her intentions.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Vinyl smiled in return, her hoof continued on its journey as Blood moon made similar motions; she pulled his hood off and he removed her glasses, the set of blood red eyes on the pair of them revelled. This was one of the more personal reasons that the assassin felt he held the DJ closer to heart than any other mare he had ever met; the duo's eye colour was rare, even amongst a race of ponies that resembled a rainbow when you had at least four of them in a room, blood red irises were not common and held a sort of 'avoid this pony' reputation. As it turned out, Vinyl had the same problems, this being what drove her to wearing shades most of the time, and the assassin was also fairly sure that it had been him complementing her eyes that had earned him a night with her. As he looked into her eyes he saw what he had saw about fourteen months back; the sheer optimism and foalish look on life, she had a very cheerful imagination to boot, this being what had inspired her to start with the energetic and fast music she made. He broke the eye contact first and put his eyes over the crowds again.

"So how's Octavia" he asks nonchalantly. The mare's eyes widened as she heard the name of her marefriend.

"Oh, she's fine" the white furred mare pouted "off in Canterlot for some big-wig get together." Blood moon looks over at her.

"And how are the both of you doing?" When he'd met Vinyl she had just started dating Octavia, though it seemed that the relationship would be short lived, had the assassin not offered his council.

"Well we don't act as edgy or cold around each other now, y'know don't argue as much, if at all" she adopted a look the assassin knew all too well "and, well let's just say, we're getting along MUCH better now." A sly grin works its way across the stallion's face.

"I don't know, may need some proof of that" he told her, acting as if he knew she wasn't telling the whole truth. Vinyl smacked his head playfully.

"Black hood, some mares have decency y'know!"

"Well I know Tavi does but I don't know about you." Another smack, harder but still playful, before she leaned in and spoke seductively into his ear.

"Well, me and her do owe you our continued relationship to you." He felt her grin. "I'm sure you could convince her though" she whispered, her tongue 'accidently' brushing his ear.

"Hey there Blood moon, what are you whispering about?" Ditzy, she had a façade of pleasantries about her but the assassin could see the hostility hid behind it.

"Nothing really, just me and an old friend remembering old tim-MHHHPPPF!" He was cut off by Ditzy planting a kiss on his lips. Maybe the words: 'plant' and 'lips' were the wrong words, maybe 'forcing with the power of a meteor' and 'face' would be more accurate… yeah 'Ditzy forcing, with the power of a meteor, a kiss on his face' is much more accurate. The assassin felt the mare's tongue demand entry into his mouth, his subconscious screamed at him, telling him something was wrong, his instincts practically hitting him with a bat in order to get him to stop, but unfortunately the assassin was in the middle of being kissed, rather roughly, by his marefriend so he was rather caught up in kissing her back. The embrace lasted around forty-five seconds, the conversations that were going on around them slowly lulling and dying, most eyes in the room being turned to the making-out pair and all ears attuning to the faint moans coming from Ditzy doo. She disengaged the kiss first, a trail of saliva connecting their tongues, as she leaned back her eyes locked on his, something…_strange _in them. It suddenly dawned on Blood moon that the whole room had gone quiet, looks of awkwardness and 'not bad' expressions on the stallion's faces, and desire and/or jealousy on the mares. Besides them Vinyl sat with her mouth slightly agape, still taking in what she had just seen. Ditzy looked over at the DJ.

"Hey Vinyl." Her voice was calm and pleasant but there was still that… _strange something,_ in her eyes.

"H-h-hi Der-uh Ditzy. I take it you and Blood moon know each other?" _'Good observational skills, Vinyl' _the stallion thought.

"Yeah, me and him started dating awhile back." Vinyl turned her head to him slowly, eyes narrowed.

"So 'dating' huh?"

'_Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap.' _"Yeah, few days now" the stallion explains, keeping his inner panic under wraps.

"When'd you meet?"

"Few days ago" Ditzy tells her, either oblivious to the current situation or doing a good job at maintaining a ruse and pulling apart one of his only friendships…which just happened to be with a mare… and Ditzy was his _mare_friend…some marefriends were known to be… It suddenly clicked in his head.

'_Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh CRAP.' _

"Isn't that a little… sudden?" Both Blood moon and Vinyl knew she had made a good point but Ditzy seemed to either be oblivious to it or didn't care.

"Say Vinyl, aren't you busy?" Ditzy made little effort to hide her hostility this time. The assassin knew the DJ would likely stand up for herself, but he felt the need to defuse this situation before it got out of hoof. Throwing a sideways look at her that spoke his thoughts, she went along with him.

"Yeah, gotta get back to the, y'know, the beats" she muttered, heading back to her booth. Ditzy had an undeniable look of satisfaction about her as she watched the mare back down at Blood moon's advice.

"What was that all about?"

"What, a mare needs a reason to kiss her stallion now?" Blood moon saw right through the tissue-thin story, and always one to face is problems head-on, he pushed the point.

"Depends on what is going through the mare's head at the time." The mare narrowed her eyes in a way Blood moon had never seen before.

"I'm gonna ignore that" she told him before trotting away. The assassin couldn't help but silently snarl at her as she went. Shaking his head and pushing the thoughts to the back of /his mind. As the thoughts left for his subconscious he felt his stomach rumble, reminding him that he hadn't eaten for…

"Four…five…damn, when was the last time I ate?" Getting back on his hooves he made his way over to the table of foodstuffs. "Celestia's mane…" was all the age old assassin could say when he saw the spread; he knew that all the attending ponies had been to the table at least once, himself not included, but the fact that he still had pretty much the whole original selection to choose from: muffins, cupcakes, apple fritters, apple pies, ice-cream, apples, a rather grand cake and many other apple related treats sat on the table. Giving an indifferent shrug, he filled a plate of his own, moving slowly down the table until he knocked into somepony. Looking over a candyfloss scented mane was mere inches from his face. He knew that mane.

"Hiya Mooney, enjoyin' the party?" Blood moon looked around, his eyes lingering on Vinyl, who nodded his way before going back to her music, before he watched Ditzy doo put a sleepy looking Dinky under her wind.

"It has its up and downs" he answered. He watched Pinkie lean her hoof on the table, old habits forcing him to eye the knife that had been used to cut the cake before shaking the idea away. _'Too much time in Germaney' _he thought. As he looked up he saw the pink pony's sad looking face…no, wait it was happy…both? Either way, it looked like a pretty creepy mix of the two.

"Hey, my daddy said that about my first party." The assassin frowned when he thought he saw the mare's eye twitch and her hoof move a little further to the blade. "At first he liked it but at the end he was just as grumpy as always" she leaned in, prompting any sane stallion to lean back, though Blood moon didn't count himself as fully sane in that respect "are you gonna get all grumpy after?" Once again, that look in her eye that told the assassin she was about to burst into tears.

"No, I'm havin' fun."

"Then why aren't you smiling" she asked before he could continue, the question catching him off guard.

"Well, I guess you could say smiling isn't really my thing. I smirk, grin and grunt amusedly, but I don't give out and out smiles all that much." Her hoof moved closer to that knife again.

"My daddy was a lot like that too, he didn't smile much either." There were now six inches between her hoof and the knife.

"Why do you keep going about your dad when you talk to me Pinkie?" Five inches.

"Because, you remind me of him so much silly-billy."

"How do I remind you of him?"

"Because you act grumpy all the time, I said already!"

"I'm an immortal assassin, I pretty sure you father isn't an immortal assassin" his face slackened slightly "is he?" Pinkie giggled.

"No, we all worked on a rock farm; me, my two sisters Inkie and Blinkie, my mom and my dad." Four inches.

"But I can't remind you of him that much, I mean, I'm pretty sure he's nothing like me." Pinkie looked up in thought.

"No I guess he wasn't." Three.

"Wasn't? Wait, Pinkie, is your dad still alive?" Her face took on a look of sadness, but her mannerisms didn't.

"Nope, they all died one night when I was still young; Timber wolves got them. They never did find the bodies." There was something…_off, _about the way she said the last sentence. It also dawned on the assassin her hoof was only two inches away from the knife. Blood moon's instincts kick in, telling him something was up.

"Pinkie pie…timber wolves don't nest near rock farms, they need trees to properly raise their pups. I don't think your family could have been killed by them." One inch away.

"Huh, nopony else figured that out." Her hoof was hovering over the handle of the weapon now and the assassin focused his magic on his own blade.

"Pinkie…" A blade flashed, a tear was heard and a scream rang out through the library. Pinkie had just tried to stab Blood moon but it was caught in the _Robus-_weave of his vest, though he knew he would be dead if he hadn't been wearing it. Rarity had apparently seen the act and had promptly shrieked. Said assassin stood there, eyes narrowed as he looked at Pinkie pie; her mane and tail had gone completely straight, her eyes were unnaturally wide and her pupils were as small as pin-pricks and her smile was just _wrong _on so many levels. Blood moon backed up, quick as a flash, drawing his sword as he went. Before he could say anything the mare darted forwards, her weapon slashing at his throat; the blow was deflected by the assassin, sparks flying as the two weapons met, she used the deflected attack to her advantage, attempting to drive the knife into his neck again and it would have worked had he not swayed out of line of the attack, slamming his hoof into her leg in an attempt to disarm her but she had a death-grip on the thing she was using to kill him, backing up and putting distance between them he tried to get through to her. First though, he had to find out just what in the everlasting buck was going on here.

"Pinkie pie" she slashed again and he dodged back, retaliating with his own swipe which was caught on Pinkie's weapon, locking the blades, giving the assassin a chance to talk. It suddenly dawned on Blood moon that they had attracted a crowd, who had formed a semi-circle around them. "Pinkie, what's wrong with you?" She responded by pushing on the blades, causing the assassin to push back to keep the assassin to push back so he could keep the lull in the battle so he could talk.

"That's not Pinkie" a voice in the crowd called out. Blood moon dared to look left and saw the rest of the elements of harmony with fearful expressions on their faces. The speaker had been Twilight.

"What do you mean that's not Pinkie pie?"

"That's Pinkamena!" The blade-lock disengaged and the pair of pony dualists stepped back. "She's a separate personality that was developed when she got her cutie mark, it's her when she's not happy or-" a sudden advance by Pinkie cut her off, the insane version of the party filly lunging for Blood moon, who rolled onto his back, planted his rear-hooves on her stomach and threw her over him.

"Not thinking straight, yeah I got that much" the assassin called over. Both ponies back on their hooves they went at it again; Pinkie swiped and the assassin blocked, more sparks flying off the weapons, Blood moon swung his short-sword viciously at the mare's knife, opening her defense, before spinning and bucking her in the chest. "Pinkamena, get out of Pinkie's head!"

"That won't work. When Pinkamena comes out, she won't go until Pinkie pie is happy again" Twilight explains. The pink mare attacks again, two slices aimed at the dark stallion's neck, both parried and another ducked under and countered by the stallion smacking the hilt of the weapon into her muzzle, dazing her. It was a one sided fight, Blood moon had been doing this his whole life, all's Pinkie had was her reactions, hoof speed and adrenalin fueled instincts, no real training or anything. Blood moon's problem came in the form of not wanting to hurt the mare and that he was dealing with insanity here, and there is no way to predict what insanity will do.

"Hey Pinkie, a stallion trots into a bar. He says 'ouch'." _Ba dum, tiss…_

"THAT JOKE WAS AWFUL AND COMPLETELY INAPROPRIATE FOR THE TIME IT WAS DELIVERED" Pinkamena roars, slashing down and across in quick succession, both strikes blocked by the assassin who had just told his wit to go sit in the corner.

"So how in the buck does this work then" the assassin demanded, his temper rising.

"We need to suppress Pinkamena; this is the side of her without laughter or her sanity, we need to get her to embrace them again." The mare goes to stab Blood moon, who swerves out of the way, grabs her extended hoof and throws her away from him.

"Well this town does have a furniture and quill store, so there's bound to be a 'Laughter and sanity R us' somewhere or another!"

"No! We need somepony to get through to her."

"Rainbowdash managed to git through to her las' time" Applejack comments as she looks for said mare.

"She's not exactly fighting fit right now" Sand stalker tells them. The still sane mane six, look to where the voice came from, seeing the old Pegasus with his wing over the quaking form of RD. Twilight and co go over to her.

"What happened?" Fluttershy puts a hoof to her fore-head to check her temperature.

"I dunno, it started when Pinkie…" he trails off and looks over to the pink mare lash out Blood moon again. "When she started acting strange, Rainbow said something about a nightmare and just broke down, ever since she's been saying something about 'cupcakes' every now and then." Every one of the mares gave a confused 'Huh?'

"Well one of us is gonna have ta try 'n git through ta her." In response Fluttershy feinted, Rarity almost peed herself and Twilight gulped.

"Alright, I'll try" Twilight told her, her resolve present but flimsy at best. Trotting over to the two fighters, watching as Pinkie made a sideways slice at Blood moon, who blocked, held her weapon in another blade lock and tried another disarm by turning her weapon in a wide arc before she managed to slip out. "Pinkie, I know you can hear me! I want you to calm down" Pinkamena stopped her attacks to whip her head over to Twilight "it's me, Twilight sparkle, your friend. Don't you remember all we've been through?" Pinkie was still panting, her once demonic smile replaced by an upside down version of the same expression, but the simple words seemed to be getting through to her. That was until Pinkie threw her knife at her. Twilight screamed, the room gasped and time froze. The whole room made a move to not look at the event, turning their heads, closing their eyes or covering them with their hooves. But something was missing; they all expected to hear a dull 'thud' as Twilight's lifeless body fell to the floor. Instead, when the all looked up they saw that Twilight hadn't been touched by the flying blade, it hadn't even come close; it was instead embedded in the stallion's dark silver grey fur, the metal of the weapon decorated by his blood that seeped from the wound. The weapon had entered just above the stomach, the hilt buried in his body, and his vital fluids wept around it. Nopony knew quiet what happened, one minuet the weapon had been flying at Twilight, then a grey blur and then Blood moon out of nowhere with a knife in his side. As he stud there a low, pain filled groan escaped his throat.

"Owwwwwwww" was the only thing he said. The whole room had gone awfully quiet. The assassin turned his head to Pinkie, his horn glowed as a shadow tendril shot from the ground and pinned her, holding her by her legs, making use of her sudden lull in offence and lack of weaponry, before he galloped over to her, despite the knife lodged in him and grabbed her by the waist and teleported away, though rather than a flash of light, he and the mare faded away into shadow black smoke; an effect shadow magic had on other types of magic was that it always came out darker.

The two appeared outside, in the night air, illuminated by Luna's moon casting a silver sheen over everything. Pinkie and Blood moon tumbled out of his teleportation, rolling and falling over one another, all the time the blade in the assassin's side was being knocked about. The assassin got up first, pinkie lying on her side, as he attempted to dislodge the dagger in his side; reaching back with his right hoof he gripped the handle, electing a hiss of pain from him, he tightened his grip and took a deep breath before ripping it out of himself. A breathless and silent growl escaped him as he plunged the bloodied blade into the ground. He set about healing himself; his horn lit up, albeit weakly, as the unicorn magic set about healing the wound, tugging the split tissue back together before it burned any infections away. The spell the went about its most painful phase, not that the rest had been pleasant; the torn skin tissue began to heal proper, the middle most split and damaged skin began to sizzle and burn as it joined together, a small flow of smoke rising from the wound and the smell of burnt flesh polluting the air. The assassin gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut as the tears of pain pushed through, the blood was still getting through the wound but it was as healed as it was going to get with magic, that was the problem with healing with magic; the split in the skin would only be rejoined at the middle, the upper and lower parts of the gap would still be open and blood could still get through. Sitting on his flank, he pulled one of the syringes out of his pouches and stabbed it into his right fore-leg and depressed the plunger, the complex mix of herbs and chemicals working its way through him, killing the pain of his partly fixed hole almost instantly. Replacing the now empty syringe and taking out a roll of bandages, he then took to wrapping them around his body, laying them over his injury and overlapping them numerous times until he was satisfied the blood had stopped seeping from him. Pressing on the area once or twice, finding it still tender, he stood and rolled his neck before trotting over to Pinkie pie; he held his sword out as he made his way over, weary of any surprise attacks. As he got closer he noticed how she seemed to be shaking.

'_Well, she's laughing or crying. Taking all bets…'_

As he got closer, he noticed how the mare seemed to be sobbing to herself. He narrowed his eyes, he didn't want her to be hurt, physically or mentally, but he didn't want her jumping up, pulling his eyes out and putting them in a cupcake or something. He stopped, stood over her, sword held over her, pointed down in a manner that told anypony he would draw blood if anything happened here that he didn't like. Hesitantly, he put his hoof on her shoulder. Nothing. Eyes darting left and right, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary, he pulled her onto her back. All bets were off. Her mane and tail may have been ridged still but he could tell by the way she was weeping into her hooves like a foal that she had snapped out of it. Sheathing his sword immediately, he leaned down and put his head down to her.

"Pinkie" no response, just more sobs "Pinkie pie, are you all right?"

"She didn't hurt you, did she?" The question caught him off guard.

'_She didn't hurt me? She knows about Pinkamena? Strange…'_

"No, I'm fine. I'm more concerned about you. You weren't yourself, what happened to you." She tried to gather herself, failing as she fell back into sobs again.

"I'm sorry, but wh-when I started talking about my dad, and you said that he couldn't have been killed by timber wolves, she didn't like the idea of somepony figuring out what happened." Blood moon lowered his head, he didn't like where this was going. He picked her up with his magic, placing her on his back, and trotting into an alleyway, away from prying eyes. Sitting her down at one side of the alley, he sat at the other, looking straight at her still crying form.

"Pinkie pie, what happened?"

"I-it started when I first got my cutie mark. Before that, I was always miserable, my sisters didn't bully me but they didn't treat me as family, just another filly that they didn't want to know. When I first saw that rainbow, I was filled with joy and I wanted to share it with my family, and I did. I threw my first party for them" she smiled weakly at the memory "they liked it at first" the smiled faded away to depression once again "but after a while, my dad decided he didn't like all the colors and went about tearing it all apart" she began to well up again "then he said that he didn't want any more parties so he went right to the source" her voice got higher pitched as she got to the end as tears started to fall from her eyes once more. Then things took a darker turn. "So he tried to get rid of me, and all the depression came back, came back as something different , came back as…as" she couldn't get the words out as she burst into tears in earnest. The dark stallion's foalsitting skills kicked in as he opened his fore-legs to hold the pink mare, the action commanded by his subconscious, and Pinkie's sobbing form fell right into his embrace.

"Came back in the form of murder" he finished, hoping he was wrong. His hopes were dashed when he felt Pinkie nod and heard a muffled 'mm hmm'. He gave a defeated sigh. "What did you do Pinkie?" She looks up with fear and confusion in her eyes. Blood moon returns the look with a smirk. "From one killer to another, Pinkie I'm in no place to judge you, and if I were I still wouldn't." The pink mare gave a grateful smile but soon went back to crying into his shoulder.

"I don't really remember much, one moment I was backing up to the wall, the next I woke up in a room with my family, but they weren't moving and there was blood all over the room and-and" she went back to crying, the assassin stroking her mane and shushing her. From what he could tell, Pinkamena and Pinkie pie were not the same pony; Pinkamena was her negativity.

'_Bad emotions don't just go away. They are embraced or rejected and trying to stay happy all the time won't ever work out well. This mare is proof enough of that.'_

He suddenly noticed that Pinkie had quieted down; she'd cried herself to sleep. He grunted as he got up, putting her back on his back and making his way to…

"Damn, where would an ecstatic, pink party thrower live Mooney" the assassin asked himself.

"I live in Sugarcube corner" Pinkie pie replied from his back sleepily. He smiled slightly.

"Thanks." The journey continued in silence, only Pinkie's sniffles breaking the silence. The assassin soon found himself at the bakery that looked to be made from gingerbread, Pinkie gave him a key she had been keeping…somewhere, and Blood moon unlocked the door with it, closing it again as he went inside. The inside of the shop was still, silent and covered in shadow and silver from the moon. The assassin and party thrower riding him went upstairs, finding the mare's room was easy, given 'Pinkie's room' was on a sign that was attached to a pink door decorated with blue and yellow balloons.

'_Subtle.'_

Trotting through the door, opened with his magic, and put her down on the bed. He looked over her as she breathed calmly but judging by the way her back legs were kicking out she was having nightmares, he found himself hoping Luna would be there to guide her through her troubles. He turned to go but felt a hoof on his back, calling his attention, turning around he found Pinkie pie's half lidded eyes upon him.

"Don't go please." The assassin took a breath; he knew he couldn't go, knew he couldn't leave her by herself when he knew he could help her, be there for her. It sometimes surprised even him just how comforting just having somepony standing by you could be.

"As long as you're in shadow, you'll always be safe." Pinkie smiled a bit.

"Pretty words" she said sleepily. The assassin couldn't help but crack a smile at that one. "Hey, you smiled" was the last thing she said before she fell asleep.

* * *

Twilight stood stock still, she wasn't quite sure what happened, by the time she had figured out what had happened it was already over; Pinkie had thrown her knife but Blood moon had intercepted it, then they'd both vanished. After she gathered her thoughts she turned to the crowd.

"Ok everypony, I think that marks an end to this party. You can all go back to your homes and we'll try and sort this out and try and find out what happened to Pinkie" she told them all in a voice that said she wasn't sure what had happened with her and Blood moon and didn't really want to find out. In response, everypony in the library promptly left, Vinyl packed up her music and did the same, while Twilight's friends remained. She looked to where Rainbowdash had been and found that Sand stalker was still sat with a wing over her.

"Is she ok?" Sand stalker looked up at the mare who had asked the question, Twilight, before looking back at the mare under his wing.

"She seems to be settling but it looks like she isn't getting up anytime soon" he told her "I'm going to try and get her home." Twilight nodded, by the looks of the cyan furred mare, getting her back to her bed was the best thing he could do. She felt a nudging on her leg and looked down to see Scootaloo with a worried look on her face.

"What's up with her?" The older Pegasus spared her a glance before he looked back to the mare beneath his wing.

"Nothing, she's just…sleepy, she'll be ok tomorrow" the Arabian answered. He stood up and motioned for Twilight to put Rainbowdash on his back, and after she had lifted her on with her magic, he bade her farewell and left with a mare on his back.

Trotting through the night in Ponyville all depended on where you were; sticking to the more open areas would keep you alive, but meandering into a back street would likely end with your guts on the floor. As he continued to trot through the small town he felt a stirring on his back.

"N-no…Pinkie…not my wings…CUPCAKES!" She blurted the words out as she leapt into the air and stayed there breathing heavily still half in her dream.

"Dash, calm down. It's safe, Pinkie ain't hear." The mare looked around, unsure of what was going on.

"Wait, what, where am I" she demands.

"A little ways away from your place, I was carrying you there after you passed out." Dash seemed to fall into shame and embarrassment.

"Uhhh, I feinted. Please tell me nopony saw." The merc shrugged.

"Twilight, Applejack and Rarity saw you, so did the kid that hangs out with you." Rainbowdash face-hoofed.

"You mean Scoots saw me?" Another shrug.

"Yeah but she seemed more concerned than anything" he supplies.

"R-really, I thought that…that…"

"Since she looked up to you, you felt you had to look tough in front of her." He finished the sentence in confidence but in reality he was flying blind here, comforting mares and foals was, from what he had seen and heard, Blood moon's department but Rainbowdash's dad was his friend and he'd been asked to look after her by her parents, so if stumbling around in the dark was all he had when he was looking out for her, then so be it.

"Why do you even care" she asked as she flew on "I don't even know you."

"You really mean that, don't you Dash?" The mare gave a nod in reply. They had both taken to the air, Rainbow a little shakily, and made their way to the rainbow mare's home, or maybe 'home' was an understatement, it was more like a cloud castle, rainbow falls cascading down in a majestic manner and podiums holding up other segments of the cloud that made up the place. It was an obvious replica of the architecture of Cloudsdale. The pair landed just outside the door, Sand stalker still looking over Rainbowdash's home with an appreciative eye. "Not bad" he mutters. Looking back at the mare he nodded his goodbye, moving to the lip of the 'cloud-porch' and prepared to jump off. "You ever remember your dad saying anything about 'ol' uncle sand'?" There was recognition in her face, to which the merc grinned and motioned his head in his own direction "sand and shade." He went on to leap off the home of a stunned Rainbowdash.

"Sand and shade, uncle sand" she muttered, before her eyes widened in recognition, she remembered her dad saying something about a Pegasus who had helped look after her when her dad had been away doing…whatever he did when he was gone. "Uncle Sand" she called after his plummeting form, her expression saddened; she hadn't been able to thank him.

**A/N: So, new chapter after a rather...long...while...sorry. Anyway, I thought I'd mention that I went back the rather glaring issue in the last chapter, when I wrote that somehow Celestia's DAD gave birth to her and Luna, sorry about that. Oh, and by the way, one of the reasons I was gone so long was because I was writing the first two chapters of my other fic, Fahdon (HA, shameless self-promotion for the win!). Anyway, drop a comment in the collection box on the way out, fav, follow or whatever.**

**Productive faffer out. **


	13. An average day for an assassin

Chapter thirteen: An average day for an assassin

Pinkie woke up first, she was stirred by the assassin that slept next to her; he shuffled, turned, kicked out, grunted and groaned in his sleep. She could tell he was having a nightmare. He started to get more violent, his fore-legs flailing and striking out at an unseen assailant. His grunts turned to growls, a dog like rumble leaking from his jaws as his night terrors influenced his outward actions. His horn began to glow and the shadows in the room began to move, swaying like flames in a weak breeze. His head started turning, snapping to the sides fast and harsh as he tried to spot something. His movements stopped for a second, he muttered something under his breath, it was gibberish and had no meaning but he seemed to put thought into it and he had a bitter ting in his voice. The he started to thrash around, his whole body moving at once, full body spasms that threw his form around before going limp again. He then seemed to be paralysed, his teeth bared, his canines seemed to be sharper, more like a wolves than a ponies, and another growl emerged from his throat, it turned to a snarl, which turned to a roar. Pinkie was getting worried; she'd slept remarkably well considering what had happened last night but finding Blood moon like this was starting to scare her as he continued to go through his own personal hell.

"M-mooney, are you ok" she asked his sleeping and stirring form. She didn't get an answer, instead he continued stirring and thrashing, his right-fore hoof grabbed at the covers of Pinkie's bed and he held them in a death-grip, the stallion had begun to mutter again; 'Sombra', 'Celestia' and 'Star-swirl' were the only words that could be made out through his ravings. He released his grip on the sheets but quickly latched onto Pinkie's nearby hoof. "Blood moon?" The assassin was breathing heavily now, sweat pouring from beneath his fur and his eyes were squeezed together. Pinkie leaned forwards, but as soon as she made a move the assassin's eyes shot open, his horn sparked to life and his grey aura gripping his blade which ripped from his scabbard and flew across the room faster than the mare could blink; with a low 'Thunk' his blade impaled itself into the wall, embedding itself hilt deep. The mare gave a small squeal, attracting the attention of the assassin, who was trying to collect himself as he pulled his mind from the depths of his dark mind that tortured him so.

He took a few deep breaths to steady himself, and tried to remember what he just had running through his mind; he had to restrain himself from scowling when he came up with little to nothing, a few scraps was all he had, a battle, a few names and little more. He suddenly noticed the pressure on his right hoof, looking at it he found a pink hoof gripping it, attached to the hoof was a leg and the owner of the leg was a pleasantly round mare, soft in all the right places and nice and round in all the good places. Pinkie pie. She held his hoof, and was looking at the assassin with a face of fear and worry.

"B-blood moon, Mooney, are you ok?" She seemed to be scared of the assassin, but he couldn't blame her, what with the show he put on when he awoke.

"I…I'm fine, just a…just a bad dream is all. How are you?"

"Better, knowing you're ok. And that you're still here." He put a small smile on his face.

"I never leave a friend behind." Pinkie lit up, beaming at him, not one of her freaky out of place smiles that were worn by Pinkamena, but one of the real pleasant and down-right lovable one's that only Pinkie pie could put one her face.

"You mean we're friends?" She practically squealed. The assassin shrugged.

"Well, we've slept together, that's gotta count for something right?" Pinkie's eyes widened for a second, a blush kissed her face, looking strangely cute on her pink face, held her mouth behind her hooves and giggled.

"You're naughty" she giggled. He put on a look of mock offence, putting a hoof to his chest.

"Pinkie pie, you wound me so with your cruel, cruel words." Pinkie laughed again, maybe too much for said gag, she fell onto her back and wound down from her small fit. Blood moon retrieved his weapon from the wall and sat on the bed besides her, back and rear-end still sore from a night on the floor. He looked down at her sprawled out form. It suddenly hit him that pretty much all of the elements of harmony had perplexingly nice bodies, more so than most other average mare's looks; Applejack was well toned and muscular; Rarity, as one would expect, had one of the shapeliest figures he'd ever seen; and Pinkie pie was round and soft. He looked at Pinkie again and saw something different in her eyes; they were still locked onto the ceiling but there was a strange…the only way to put it would be, a shift in the wind. "Pinkie, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about last night…"

"Well don't, regrets are never helpful, and it's not like it was you in there was it? You can't blame yourself for something you didn't do Pinkie." The happiness returned to Pinkie's face.

"Thanks Mooney, you really know how to make me feel better." The assassin simply shrugged.

"We should get up; everypony is probably worried about you." It was at this point when Pinkie seemed to bounce right off the bed, in a strangely graceful arc, somersaulting and landing on her hooves with balance only those who had been training all their lives or those who could toggle the laws of physics at will, could achieve.

"Oo oo oo, I gotta introduce you to the Cakes and their twins!" The assassin simply blinked, in his mind Pinkie wanted him to say 'hello' to a pair of deserts and their children, most likely baby cakes or something.

"The cakes can have children in Ponyville? What do you put in the flour here?" Pinkie giggled in a way that would make even the most dead and shrivelled up heart beat again from the pure joy that seemed to radiate from the sound.

"No silly, Mr and Mrs Cake own Sugarcube corner and the twins are their two foals; Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake." Blood moon made a sound that signified his understanding, but still felt his theory about cakes having children was better, if more amusing.

"Alright then, let's go meet some ponies" he said as he trotted for the door. As he reached it though he found that Pinkie was not following him, instead she had a look of worry and uncertainty about her. "Are you sure you're ok Pinkie, one minuet you seem fine the next you're as depressing as a dead puppy." Pinkie gave one long sigh.

"It's just…what if everypony thinks I'm weird or if Mr and Mrs Cake heard about what happened last night or maybe everypony think-" she was cut off when Blood moon lunged for her, holding her down, putting her in an ancient Japony full-body restraint, which has been lost to time for hundreds of years and takes over nine years to master this single move, and proceeded…to tickle her relentlessly. You would have thought that being a foalsitter Blood moon would know how to cheer up an upset filly, and you'd be right, but it was actually his skills as an assassin that allowed him to put Pinkie pie on her back while she laughed uproariously as he attacked her more sensitive nerve endings, moving his hooves with an extraordinarily out of place amount of skill as Pinkie begged him to stop between bursts of laughter. After a good thirty seconds of these antics, Blood moon finally releases an upbeat Pinkie pie, who lays sprawled on the floor trying to catch her breath and winding down from another laughing fit and wearing a smile that gave the assassin hope for her wellbeing. "I needed that" the mare comments.

"It looked like it" Blood moon replies as he sits there, looking over Pinkie "it's only right the element of laughter should laugh" he remarks while grinning. "Are you gonna get up any time soon?" Pinkie's smile grows wider as she closes her eyes.

"Nah, I'm comfy here" she replies before yawning. Blood moon looks on in what should have been disbelief, considering not five minutes ago she had been asleep, but even after the short time he had known Pinkie pie, he had grown to accept this behaviour as normal. He gazes over her small form and his eyes rest on, bizarrely, her stomach and a rather out of place thought slides smoothly into his head, like when somepony slides right through the front door of a party and nopony notices. He reaches over to her and puts his hoof on her tummy, before he proceeds to rub her. Belly rubs. For no particular reason, besides his feeling like it. As he continues this act, Pinkie pie sighs peacefully, clearly enjoying it.

"Hmm, what's that" she asks before a giggle escapes her lips.

"Belly rubs, I know from experience that it's soothing and, depending on the pony, downright adorable." Pinkie gives yet another giggle, though as the sound leaves her lips the assassin hears the door creak open.

"Pinkie pie" a male voice asks.

"Are you ok? We heard something fall over…" a female voice asks. The mare, of blue fur and swirly two-tone pink mane and tail, trots in and spots Pinkie pie; alone in her room with a stallion rubbing her tummy. She was, predictably, a little surprised by the situation. The stallion, of yellow fur and a spiky orange mane and tail, stepped into the room after her.

"Pinkie, we heard something happened last night. Are you alright?" He quickly spots the dark stallion in the centre of the room. He quickly becomes defensive. "And you are?"

"My name is Blood moon" he introduces, his sentence punctuated by an unhappy moan from Pinkie who had noticed the lack of rubbing upon her belly. She sat up and noticed the two new presences in the room and recovered from the post-belly rubs mentality remarkably quickly.

"HiMrCakeHiMrsCakethisisBloodmoonhe'sanewfriendofm inehesleptherelastnighttoobutdon'tworrietheauthort houghtwehadn'tknowneachotherlongenoughtomakeushave sexyetandsincePinkamenacameoutlastnightitwould'tha vebeenveryappropriateconsideringmymentalconditiona tthetimeOHarethetwinsupIshouldgogetthemandintroduc edthemtoMooneythisisMooneybythewayMooney'snothisre alnamethat'sBloodmoonMooney'sjustanicknameIgavehim wellIshuldgoseehowPumpkinandPoundaredoingseeeeyaaa aa!" The pair of bakers, for their part, just nodded at Pinkie as she spoke but otherwise seemed to have zoned out up until she left the room. Blood moon, on the other hoof, had listened to her and was sat there throwing his fore-legs up and down in confusion before letting them go limp and fall to his sides. He really wanted to go find that dark corner so he could have a little cry right now. He looked at the mare and stallion and decided to try and regain some of his sanity by engaging them in conversation.

"I can only guess you're Mr and Mrs Cake then" he got a nod "Pinkie's employers, landlords, caretakers?" He got more nods.

"Yep, we've been keeping a roof over her head for a good couple of years now. She turned up on our doorstep after she left the rock farm" Mrs Cake explains before she leans in furtively "guessing from what we heard happened last night I take it you know about…Pinkamena?" She whispers the last word. Blood moon simply nods. "She told us about that as soon as she came here, poured her heart right out, the poor dear." This caught Blood moon's interest.

"What did you do with the information?" The yellow stallion sighs sadly before answering.

"Only thing we could do, nothing; we knew she wasn't in her right mind when it happened and we couldn't let those psychiatrist types get their hooves on the poor girl. Who knows what they would have done to her, she's not bad at all just a little…troubled." The assassin nodded his agreement.

"We couldn't do that anyway, we've come to love her as one of our own" Mrs Cake adds. Blood moon turns his full attention to her.

"Have you ever told her that?" Neither could answer, for two reasons: A) they had not told Pinkie pie that before, but couldn't think why and B) said party planner had just trotted through the door with two giggling foals on her back.

"Mooney, this is Pumpkin Cake" she slides off a unicorn filly "and Pound Cake" a Pegasus colt slides off. The assassin raises his eye brow.

"A unicorn and Pegasus?" He looks at their earth pony parents. Pinkie draws in a long breath before Mr Cake interrupts.

"It's a long story, maybe we can tell you about it over breakfast" he suggests, showing a practiced hoof at not allowing Pinkie to go on her tangents.

"I wouldn't want to be a bother." As if on cue, his stomach rumbles at the prospect of food. The assassin could feel the narrowed, threatening eyes of his gut looking up at him. Mrs Cake gives a small smile.

"Oh you won't be a bother, besides, it sounds like you need it" she insists. As she speaks the filly, Pumpkin Cake, trots unsurely up to Blood moon. In return, the dark stallion leans down to her and looks her in the eye.

"Hello there" he says quietly. The filly responds by trying to eat his muzzle. The stallion straightens up, a smile on his face as Pumpkin remains attached to his face. "So how do I taste today, young one?" Pumpkin giggles a little, losing her grip on the assassin's face and falling into his fore-hooves. He places the foal back on the floor, next to her brother. "Well if you insist I can't really say no can I" he tells them, bringing the conversation back to its point. The parents, foals, ex-foalsitter and Pinkie pie proceed to go downstairs and find a table in the café area of the bakery. The bakers and assassin settle for a cup of coffee, the foals a bottle of milk each and Pinkie pie a cup of punch that she seemed to have pulled from her mane. The conversation revolved mainly around bakery and the foals, Blood moon tuning out for the talk about muffins, cupcakes and other assorted pastries. During the time they sat in the bakery, Mrs Cake noticed the bandages on Blood moon's side, prompting the stallion to properly see to the wound; a few stiches later it would be just another scar after a while. After an hour of friendly conversation, Blood moon decided it was time for him to go; standing outside the door he gave his final farewell's to Pinkie pie.

"I'll see you around Pinkie pie, be sure to tell everypony you're ok" he advices.

"Okie dokie lokie, I'll see you later Mooney" she turns to go inside before she pauses and turns back to Blood moon "Oh, and Mooney…" she doesn't finish, instead she wraps her fore-hooves around him "thanks for being there for me."

"Don't mention it, I look after my friends" he replies as he returns the embrace. The two release each other and go about their separate ways. The stallion didn't get two meters until he ran into Ditzy. She held herself a little offensively and her eyes weren't open the whole way.

"Where were you? I couldn't find you last night!"

"Well it's good to see you too, and to answer your question I was with Pinkie." The grey mare leans in, eyes further narrowed, but Blood moon holds his ground.

"And just what were you doing with her?" The record scratches.

"Helping her through a troubling time, are you implying that I was-?"

"I'm not implying anything, I know. I've seen the way you look at other mares, hay you and Vinyl may as well have been making out last night!" Blood moon couldn't quite believe this.

"Are you accusing me of being unfaithful, of being disloyal to you?" She didn't answer, but her face said it all, her eyes said it all. And it was all Blood moon needed. He advanced on her, slow and threatening, his eyes narrowed and intimidating. For the first time, Ditzy could see the assassin that Blood moon kept hidden from her. If there was one thing the dark stallion hated, he absolutely detested, it was being accused of being disloyal. It seemed Ditzy got the message as well, as she began to back up, her eyes slowly widening in fear. "I don't want to see you again" he hissed, voice full of malice and venom, every drop aimed at Ditzy. Her eyes widened further.

"What" she whispered.

"You heard me" the assassin snarled, before he turned and trotted away from the mare. As he went he could hear her burst into tears and take flight in the opposite direction.

* * *

A less than happy assassin sat in the Hoof and anvil, nursing a tankard of particularly strong cider, or to be more accurate, his third tankard of the infamous Appleloosa 'apple mugging'.

'_Leaves you with a sore head and an empty wallet.'_

Besides the assassin sat Sand Stalker, he leaned back against the couch the pair of fighters sat upon. The assassin had found the mercenary when he'd trotted into the bar in an impossibly bad mood. Blood moon had told him how he and Ditzy had 'parted ways'. His solution to the problem had been to 'drink his sorrows away'. It didn't exactly strike Blood moon's fancy but it was better than nothing.

"I gotta say, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did." The assassin turns his gaze to the merc.

"Subtle" is all he says in return. Sand Stalker shrugs.

"I'm just sayin' is all, I mean; you met and then you started dating, things… progressed pretty quickly between you. That said, it was only for, what, three days. Then again, going from what you two were getting up to last night, I'm surprised it ended so suddenly." Blood moon grunts.

"I wouldn't say that, rushed relationships never work out well. That, and I don't think it would have lasted long either way. A lack of trust never really helps in the continued survival of a relationship."

"Lack of trust?"

"Yeah, it's a sort of personal thing I have; whenever somepony challenges my loyalty I kind of…snap. Ditzy's lucky she still has wings" he growls with narrow eyes. The temperature in the room dropped dramatically.

"Take it easy Blood moon" the merc warns.

"Yeah, well, I'm an old, angry and bitter assassin. I like to think I have the right to be a little cold now and then. In case you haven't noticed, I take my loyalty very seriously." He narrowed his eyes and turned to the mustard stallion. "Don't. You. Forget it." The two sat in silence for a while after that, neither of them really knowing what to say. In the end Sand Stalker settled for idle conversation.

"So, how come you are so…obsessive over loyalty, I never really noticed before." Blood moon snorts slightly.

"I got that from Celestia, when she declared me an enemy of Equestria and set all her army and resources on my sent…she put it down to my 'abandonment' of her and ever since I've been, well you said it, a little obsessive about it. I guess you could say I never got over it." Sand Stalker nods his understanding.

"Don't you think you over reacted a little though? I mean just dumping her like that, if anything THAT was a little cold, especially considering her week so far." The assassin turned his head back to the merc.

"Don't tell me how to live my life. Right now, I couldn't care less about the way she feels. If she wanted me to stick with her, she should have been more trusting." Sand Stalker didn't back down from the stare Blood moon met him with.

"You really are cold, you know." The assassin just smirked.

"Fifteen thousand years alive, making mistakes, being forced to live with them, raising a family and never seeing them again, taking lives, ruining them, destined to wander for all eternity with nowhere to go and nopony to really relate to. You're damn right I'm cold." The two sat in silence once more, a very tense and uneasy silence.

"Oh, by the way, Applejack already told us everything about your…troubled past." The assassin snorts again, but considering the circumstances he didn't really care.

"Yeah, sorta figured that when I got no real reaction to my rather dark speech just now, and I can only presume it was Twilight who asked her to ask me anyway" he grunts. There was yet another lull in the conversation, the two of them taking sips from their drink periodically.

"So what are you gonna do?" Blood moon sighs when this question is asked, it had actually been a point he'd been avoiding.

"I don't know. There are a few problems I need to see to: first, I need a place to stay. Second: I think I need to make a start on figuring out who sent me after Twilight. Thirdly: figuring out what Luna meant when she last spoke to me. Forth: I've got to find out who or what was behind that attack on Ponyville."

"What do you mean, 'what Luna meant'?" The assassin looks over at the merc.

"She knows I'm here in Ponyville." Sand Stalker loosed a breath.

"Ok, that's bad."

"Very bad, this isn't good for my security at all. The only thing that confuses me is that neither has acted on the information. I'd have thought Celestia would have sent the cavalry by now, the fact that she hasn't means she either doesn't care right now, unlikely, or she doesn't actually know. Well, doesn't know yet, she's going to find out sooner or later, Princesses of Equestria and all y'know. It doesn't really matter anyway, I've been putting that meeting off for too long anyway" he mutters.

"So, what's the plan then? My advice would be to get yourself a place first. I'd offer you mine but I don't sleep with somepony after the first date." The assassin grunted a laugh at that one.

"You're right" he groaned as he downed the last of his drink and got to his hooves. "I'm not doing anything helpful here, may as well get something done and since putting together a base of operations is gonna make everything else easier, might as well put that at the top of my list. Where do I go to buy a place to stay?"

"Town hall, you'll want to speak to Mayor Mare. She handles homeownership around here." The assassin nodded and turned for the door.

"Hey buddy, you gonna pay for that" the barkeep asks. Blood moon doesn't look back.

"Put it on his tab" he calls back, gesturing to Sand Stalker. Trotting out of the bar, his ears treated to a few choice curses from the Pegasus, and made his way to town hall. He could remember its position from the map he had made in his head when he first arrived, subsequently, he got there relatively quickly. Stepping into the hall, he finds his way to an office that, according to the sign on the door, belonged to the Mayor. Stepping through he was greeted to what looked like a secretary that sat behind a desk, behind the desk was another door which Blood moon decided belonged to the actual office of the mayor.

"Sir, do you have an appointment" the mare behind the desk asked. She had deep red fur and a light pink mane and tail, it was styled but the assassin couldn't be bothered to take her in properly, she was a unicorn and was paused in the motion writing something on a piece of parchment, her pink eyes locked on him.

"I don't need one" he called back. He opened the door with his magic but it was immediately slammed closed again as he stepped up to it.

"I'm afraid you'll need to go through the proper channels sir." He turned to her and put a 'bitch please' look on his face.

"Do I look like the type to go through proper channels?" The mare looked him up and down before answering.

"No, but now would be a good time to start." The assassin almost growled, but allowed himself to narrow his eyes; this mare was stubborn, but he liked the fire she had. He took a step towards her, the motion causing the mare to hop off her seat.

"Don't annoy me mare, I'm not in a good mood today" he threatened. The mare took it in her stride.

"I couldn't care less if you were in a good mood or not. All's I want you to do is do this properly. Why are you here anyway?" The assassin gave an incredibly pissed off sigh.

"I'm here to purchase a home in Ponyville" he explains. Before the secretary could respond, the door to the mare's office flung open; a stallion, followed by a mare trotted out. The stallion wore a bow-tie and…was that a fez? He had light brown fur and a darker shade of brown mane and tail, his cutie mark was simple time turner but none of this held the assassin's attention. What held his attention were the _eyes. _Blood moon had met a lot of interesting ponies over the years, and learned a lot about them through his talent, but this stallion was, by far, one of the most fascinating ponies he had ever met. Looking into his soul revealed a great many things, more so than anypony he had ever met before, even Celestia hadn't seen as much as this stallion. He had seen more than Blood moon. A tidal wave of knowledge, skills and memories slammed into the assassin's mind, throwing him into overload as he read into him; places he didn't recognise; objects of other worldly quality; and…strange beings that were referred to as 'people'.

'_What in Tartarus is a 'people'?' _

"I wondered when I'd meet you…" The stallion spoke in an accent the assassin didn't recognise. He had a very strange energy about him; it made him likeable but held an element of intrigue to him. "So you're the one who saved Ditzy. Blood moon, isn't it?" The assassin narrowed his eyes and spoke in a low tone.

"And you are?" The stallion took to moving around the assassin, taking him in from every angle.

"Doctor Whooves" he says quickly before changing the subject "You've been courting Ditzy lately haven't you" he said, a statement not a question.

"I was" he answers. The Doctor immediately stopped rounding him and stood before him.

"Mm-hmm, I also heard you recently broke up." The assassin cocked his head to the side.

"Yeah, this morning, not three hours ago" he narrowed his eyes as he spoke. "How'd you know?" Whooves breathed loudly through his nose.

"People of my station are privy to a lot of things ponies shouldn't know." The dark stallion raised an eyebrow.

'_There's that word again…'_

"Doctor…" The assassin began but couldn't finish, he just regarded the pony in front of him with an air of indifference. The Doctor glanced left and right, not moving his head, before asking:

"Doctor who?" With that, the stallion passed the assassin and left the room, leaving a confused Blood moon in his wake.

"Can I help you?" The assassin turns his attention to the mare who had exited the office; she was an earth pony, she had a tan coat and a silver and grey mane and tail, kept in a functional but not too fancy style. Her cutie mark was a scroll, wrapped in blue ribbon, the colour of which matched her midnight blue eye exactly. A pair of half-moon spectacles were perched on her muzzle, and she wore a white collar with a green neck piece threaded through it.

"I'm looking for a place to live, is there a home available for purchase?" The mare looks him up and down for a second, regarding him no doubt, before leaning back and turning her head to the side slightly.

"I may be able to assist you" she tells him, a small grin on her face "step into my office." In his head, Blood moon sighs; the last time he'd heard that line the room had exploded around him when he'd tried to use the water cooler. The mayor's office was a simple affaire; oak desk with a multitude of papers on it, big chair behind it, large window behind that offered a grand and 'leader-ish' view of Ponyville, in front of the desk two smaller chairs sat, against a wall a few filing cabinets sat. Decorations about the office were scarce; a few pictures of peaceful scenes, the Equestrian symbol and such. A lush, green carpet was on the floor and the pair's hooves sunk into it when they stepped upon it. The mayor sat on the chair behind the desk before looking back at the stallion. "So you want to buy a home in Ponyville? Now, you understand, I can't go selling real-estate to just anypony." The assassin had a very bored look on his face.

"Do I look like 'just anypony' Miss Mayor?" The mayor leaned forwards on her seat, putting her hooves to her chin in a 'business' like fashion, her eyes half-lidded as she took in the stallion's standing form.

"Well with that hood of yours covering you up, you don't look like anypony at all." Blood moon sighed, reaching up and pulling his hood off of his head. Looking up again his face had turned from 'bored' to 'bored shitless'. The mayor, meanwhile, was taking in his face, a grin forming on her face once more. She scrutinised his features; she liked the ruggedness of his features, the scar down his face and the beaten up appearance it held, she especially liked his eyes, those blood red irises that seemed to stare into her soul. Oh, she liked this one. Mayor mare got up out of her seat, circling around her desk until she was stood next to the stallion. "Blood moon, wasn't it? That's what Time turner called you." She watched as he raised an eyebrow.

"Time Turner, you mean the stallion who was in here before?" The mayor gave a shrug, taking a discreet step closer as she did.

"Time Turner, Doctor Whooves, Dr Hooves. He has many names, but right now that's not what should be concerning you." The stallion took one step back; the mayor seemed awfully close right now.

"Yes" he said, a little unsurely "I'm looking for a home in Ponyville, is there one for sale?" her grin turned to a smile of…hidden interest.

"There is but, as I said, I can't go just selling my real-estate to just anypony. Do you have anything to offer to the community?"

'_Well let me see; I'm an assassin of unparalleled skill, who has thought in the war against Discord, the griffon wars, has killed politicians, nobles and rival assassins alike single hoofed. I have lived past living memory and walked the plains of Tartarus. My knowledge of Equestria is equalled by only Celestia and I have seen land in its borders that even the great princess of the day has no knowledge of existing. Countries and kingdoms have thrived to greatness and shrivelled to nothingness thanks to my unseen influence. Now you tell me; do you think I'll be an asset to the community?'_

"I have a few skills that would be of use, I actually helped protect the town from the changelings a little while back" he tells her. The mayor takes a step closer again, closer than before in fact.

"Hmmm, I always liked you hero types" she murmured, her voice still being picked up by the assassin. "Aren't you the one who killed five of my citizens as well? That doesn't look very good on your rap sheet, you know" Mayor tells him, hoof caressing his chest "but, I'm sure a stallion such as yourself would be able to…'persuade' me otherwise." The record, for the second time in a day, scratched. Blood moon raised his eyebrow once more, if she was implying what he thought she was…things just went from boring to amusing in about a second. The assassin went on to do the only logical thing he could think to do at the time: appraise the mare before him.

'_Alright let's see: nice face, sexy glasses, attractive build; likely from gym work rather than manual labour, but it's nice to see somepony in an office job looking after themselves so points for taking the time to make herself look pretty, nice flank, pretty eyes, tan fur goes well with the silver and grey mane and tail, no more than…thirty years old, has a nice taste in neck pieces, fine legs, suggestive smile works for me, nice choice in perfume and seems to know what she's doing. Overall rating; I'm too gentlecoltly to give one.'_

He put his infamous rouge grin on his face.

"Well, I can be pretty persuasive, did you have anything…in particular in min-" his sentence was cut off when the mare mashed her lips against his, not too softly either. This mare either: just broke up with her coltfriend, was bored, had massive amounts sexual tension going on for her or was in heat. One discreet sniff of the air later told the assassin that the latter of all his assumptions were correct; that was no perfume she was wearing, that was the pheromones she was releasing.

'_Well, it is my solemn duty as an assassin under the code of the shadow weavers to help a mare in need.'_

The stallion kissed back, forcefully, Mayor played along, moving backwards to the wall of the office. Leaning her against the wall, Blood moon lifted her off her fore-hooves, their lips still connected, as he ran his skilled hooves down her body; chest, stomach and flank were victim to his touch as he continued to rub her all over. Their lip eventually designed, the assassin running his mouth down her more sensitive spots, soon making it down to her marehood. He couldn't help but grin at the glistening folds. His warm breath hit her pussy, causing her to shiver, he teased around the edges, flicking his tongue in and out but never for more than a second as he heard her whimper slightly as he worked. He ran his tongue over one side of her opening roughly, starting at the bottom and working his way up, earning him a sharp breath from the mayor. The stallion switched to his hooves, tracing patterns along her slit, getting more gasps whenever he got too close to her clit. As he swirled his right hoof around her cunny, his left went to her flank; caressing her cutie mark and gripping her taunt rump. A sudden spank earned him a gasp from the mare.

"You really know what you're doing don't you" she comments breathlessly. He glanced up with a devious grin on his face.

"I've picked up a few things" he replies before slipping his tongue straight in. The sudden invasion gets a squeal from Mayor Mare. She slides down the wall, lost in her own pleasure, Blood moon eating her out the whole way, until she lands comfortably on her back. The assassin keeps up his efforts, thrusting his tongue in and out of her love tunnel while he keeps his lips clamped over her opening, upper lip pushing against her clit. He kisses her folds a few times before running the full width of his tongue up her, electing a long moan from Mayor. Blood moon goes back in, full force; he lapped her juices up before he went back to stabbing her pussy relentlessly. She writhed, squirmed and struggled under the assassin but he held her hips down as his tongue massaged her inner walls. Mayor Mare, lost in her bliss, had begun to moan louder, her groans breathless and pleasure filled, she caressed her own body with her right hoof, rubbing over her chest and flanks as she held her glasses, biting them slightly, in her left hoof. A wave of pleasure slammed into her, spreading out from her marehood, causing her to arch her back and open her mouth in a silent scream. Blood moon rose from her pussy, face dripping with her fluids, a grin on his face. "Enjoy that?" The mayor had a look of ecstasy on her face, still in her post-orgasmic mentality, as she tried to catch her breath.

"W-wow…" Mayor looks up from her position on the floor, replacing her glasses, and gazes at Blood moon with a sultry look on her face. "I wouldn't be doing my duty as a civil servant if I didn't return the favour y'know." She didn't wait for an answer, instead she pushed the assassin onto his back, pinning him with her fore-hooves. She planted her lips on his again, forcing her tongue into his maw, the two began to wrestle for dominance in a lustful battle between the heated mare and aroused stallion. After about twenty seconds of this, Mayor pulled away, saliva still connecting them before she moved down his body; on the way down, she traced the patterns of his scars with her tongue, working her way down torturously slow. When she did eventually get down to his member, she paused; leaning her head on her left hoof while she runs her right up and down the length of the assassin's shaft nonchalantly.

"Not bad" she muses, still jacking him off. "Wonder how it tastes" she thought aloud before running her tongue up along him, starting at the balls and slowly, seductively teasing him from base to tip until she reached the head with a small flick of her tongue that caused the assassin to growl slightly. A drop of pre-cum escaped his stallionhood, the mare quickly lapping it up and savouring the taste, before kissing the head of his member. Blood moon let loose a long groan as he rested his head on the floor. Mayor Mare giggled at his reaction before continuing. She looked at him from above his cock; the stallion treated to an incredibly hot view of the glasses clad, slightly blushed, steamy mayor, before she engulfed him completely. The feeling was, incredible to say the least; she ran her lips up and down his shaft in the perfect rhythm, fast enough to keep him stimulated, slow enough to keep him teased and wanting more, whenever she hit the base she would let her tongue out, slipping it up his member as she raised herself and letting it linger on his head as she released him from her hold, gasping for air after a deep throat. As she worked her rhythm, the assassin rested his head on his hooves, just enjoying the sensation of being sucked off. He decided that Mayor was a practiced hoof at this, considering it would explain how she managed to keep public office for so long. A grin formed on his face as he felt the mayor's moist lips moving up and down his member, relaxing, until a bolt of pleasure shot up his spin, causing him to groan involuntarily. He looked down at the mare; she'd picked up her pace, bobbing her head up and down, holding her flank in the air, waving it to and fro in a hypnotic sway, making it hard to keep his thoughts in order, soon he felt pressure, mixed with an overwhelming sensation of pleasure build up, signalling he was getting close to his limit. He bucked his hips in time with the mayor taking him in, thrusting his stallionhood into her maw, as he came; rope after rope of cum shot into her awaiting mouth, the mare gulping down every last drop before she removed her mouth from him and a few more spurts of cum hit her face. Mayor licked the excess cum from her muzzle and lips before moving up his body and lying across his chest. "You'd better not be done yet" she threatens with a playful grin on her face.

"Not by a long shot" he answers. His horn sparks to life as the mayor gains a grey aura and is lifted onto her desk, legs spread and stallion stood between them. Blood moon's member stands at full mast, lying against Mayor Mare's glistening still glistening folds, the mare rubbing their respective sexes together.

"Ready when you are" she whispers, her voice full of lust. She gazes at him over her glasses in anticipation, a sultry grin accompanying the blush on her face. Blood moon grins in response, aiming his stallionhood at her now dripping wet pussy. A powerful thrust later finds him joined with Mayor, her walls gripping his member in pure ecstasy. A low pitched groan escapes the mare as she feels the well-endowed stallion enter and a deep, predator like growl escapes the assassin as he stays in place, enjoying the mayor's tight marehood clench around him. Over her initial pleasure, Mayor Mare looks Blood moon in the eye before she wraps her hind-legs around him, causing him to shift inside her. The assassin gets the message; he pulls back as much as the mare's legs allow before thrusting right back in, rocking the desk in the process. He keeps up his efforts, not bothering to go easy on the lustful mare, as he slams his member deeper into her with each trust as he grows to appreciate just how tight she really is. Leaning forwards, he grips her neck piece with his teeth, pulling it free, before he whipped off her collar, basically rendering her naked, fuelled by his primal urges. As he continues to piston in and out of her, Mare shouts out directions between her groans of ecstasy.

"Faster."

He obliges, increasing his pace and redoubling the frequency of his thrusts, making the desk creak slightly in the process as it rocks in sync with his thrusts.

"Deeper!"

Once more, he obeys, driving himself further into her pussy, the combined efforts of speed and depth causing his balls to slap against her ass hole, making the sweet music of a mare being well and truly fucked. Over the sounds of the pairs grunting, groaning and the general sounds of love making, the desk on which they rutted groaned its displeasure as it creaked and squeaked beneath them.

"HARDER!"

Blood moon grins at her enthusiasm, and proceeds to pound her relentlessly, the mixed efforts of speed, depth and power prompting Mayor Mare to shout out with each thrust, her volume slowly increasing as she got closer to her climax, the assassin was feeling it to; the ever approaching finale that would be his climax. Mayor reached up with her fore-hooves and wrapped them around the dark stallion's neck, pressing her lips to his in an effort to muffle her moans from her secretary, Feather Heart, and avoid a potentially awkward situation. As she held him in the deep kiss, Blood moon had planted his hooves either side of her head, and took to ramming her with all the strength he could muster, the results taking form as the blushing mayor screaming into his mouth, both their organisms approaching quickly and causing the desk they were fucking on to continue its protests. After a while, he felt a familiar pressure build up and pulled out of the mare's kiss for a second.

"C-Cumming" he growled out.

"Over me" was Mayor Mare's breathless reply. The stallion grinned, giving a few especially hard thrusts before he felt himself almost over the edge, he held it for a second as he felt the mare clench around him, he face pressed into his shoulder as she screamed for the heavens. He held for as long as he dared before he pulled out, then shot his load over Mare's groin, stomach, chest and face before he collapsed on top of her. The desk, apparently, felt this was the last straw, as it felt apart beneath them, though with the post-orgasmic bliss the two shared, neither really cared.

"Miss Mayor, are you alright? I heard- o-oh my…" Feather Heart, stammered after she had trotted into the room, hearing the intense love-making session from within. When the mare below Blood moon answered, it became painfully obvious she was still in her post-sex mind.

"O-oh, hello there Miss Heart. Enjoying the view?" Atop her, Blood moon grunted a laugh.

"M-miss Mayor, that's hardly appropriate!" Once more the stallion laughed, this time accompanied by the mare below him.

"I'm pretty sure that's a little redundant, considering the circumstances" Blood moon comments, as he casts a spell over him and the mayor, revitalising the both of them, unwittingly refuelling her libido. When the grey mist had flowed over the two of them Mayor Mare had an all too familiar air to her. Getting up from under Blood moon, her chest still dripping with cum, flank covered in her juices and more of the assassin's cum and the scent of sex clinging to her like a weirdly appropriate perfume, she made her way over to Feather Heart.

"May I ask why you are interrupting this meeting?" The mayor had gotten pretty close to Feather, the combined scents of Blood moon and Mayor Mare flowing into her nose. She tried to fool herself into thinking she was repulsed by it but couldn't deny it was sort of…appealing.

"I-I-I-I just… heard a few screams an-and the sound of the desk breaking. I came in here to find out what was happening" she explains. "You could have been in trouble" she adds quickly.

"Well, as you can see, I am far from in danger" she tells her with a grin. Feather Heart swallows as her boss takes a step closer.

"W-what were you doing?" The answer was obvious, but the question was kind of unavoidable. The mayor's grin goes from devious to sultry, as she gathered some of the cum on her chest and licks it off her hoof, savouring the taste like a fine wine. Behind them, Blood moon gets off his back and watches the mayor of Ponyville come on to her assistant.

"Does that answer your question?" Feather watched as her boss acted incredibly slutty right in front of her. She opened her mouth to talk to her boss, perhaps to scold her, but no words came out, she just raised and lowered her lower jaw as she tried to speak and failed miserably. The stallion in the room noticed the small trail of drool trailing from her mouth. Mayor Mare watched with that same sultry grin as her assistant stood with her mouth hung open and decided to do something about it.

"M-m-miss Mayor, I-I think-MMMMMHHHHPPPFF!" The secretary was interrupted by the mayor planting her lips on hers, much like she'd done to Blood moon. Feather Heart's eyes widened in shock, before she pulled out of it. "Madame Mayor, please, get a hold of yourself!" Mayor Mare responded to her plea by grabbing her black neck-scarf, dragging her over to the assassin.

"Miss Heart, have you met Blood moon, he's a new friend of mine." The secretary looked up at the assassin, trying hard not to look down at his re-hardened member.

"Y-yes, we've met…" She was met with a giggle, from the mayor.

"Well, I'll bet you don't know him like I do" she purred, winking the assassin's way. "Would you like to get to know him too?" Feather couldn't help herself; her eyes glanced down between his hind-legs. She gulped again when she saw him, felling herself moisten ever so slightly.

Blood moon decided to take a good look at the mare before him; she had lush red fur, the colour of roses; her mane and tail were sakura pink, her mane was braided and hung down her back and her tail hung free; her eyes were the same shade of pink as her mane and tail, with a model's thick eyelashes; she had the build of a model as well, well-toned, hard in all the right places and soft in all the right places as well, her flank as appealing as Mayor Mare's; she had a pretty face, but seemed to be a little nervus, excusable considering the circumstances; her cutie mark was a quill, drawing the outline of a love heart, the assassin could only guess she was an aspiring artist, working as a secretary to make ends meet; around her neck she wore a thin black neck-scarf, tied in a bow.

"W-well I-I-I-I mean, you-you can't really expect me to…" she bit her lip a little, eyes glancing between the assassin's face and his dick. "Oh buck it" she conceded, hanging her head in slight shame as Mayor giggled and moved up to Feather. The mare turned Feather to face her, before she pulled her face to hers, their lips meeting once more, though with no resistance from Feather this time. The two began to get very well acquainted with each other's mouths and tongues as they danced and swirled around each other, exchanging saliva and wrestling for dominance. For Mayor this was a tactic to get Feather Heart prepared for the activates to come. Blood moon sat by watching the show with great intrigue but didn't interrupt; the more aroused Feather and Mayor got, the more fun this would be. As the two got more and more into it, he turned his head a looked at the busted desk, a flash of his horn and sudden flash of black flame had reduced it to ash, another spark of his horn and a discreet gust of wind blew it away. Turning his attention back to the mares, he found them with their faces buried in each other's marehoods, Feather on top, Mayor under her. She looked up at Blood moon, who looked back with a lopsided grin and a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, I've been awfully selfish haven't I" Mayor laughed, maw covered in Feather Heart's pussy juices. She motioned her head over to her, prompting the assassin over to her. Once he stood over her, member at full mast thanks to the view, Mayor spread her secretary's folds invitingly.

"Feel free" a breathless Feather Heart said over her shoulder, her own face covered in Mayor Mare's fresh cum. With a grin, the assassin obliged; he sunk it on home, a long, drawn out moan erupting from the secretary, muffled by the pussy her mouth was busy with, as his cock spread her wet, wanting folds. He didn't stop as he plunged his length into her; he kept going until he found himself balls deep in her and the mare purring seductively. The assassin held his position for a while, letting Feather get used to him, as he stayed still Mayor continued her efforts with her mouth; flicking her assistant's clit and sucking on the stallion's balls in turn. Blood moon starts to move, prompting Feather Heart to groan over her boss's opening; he angles himself down slightly, grinding his rod against her moist pearl, earning a shudder from his partner. After a few slow, gasp arousing thrusts, he began to pick up his pace, ramming Feather's pussy getting wet slaps from her rear-end. A few minutes of thrusting and Feather and Blood moon heard a bored sounding groan, apparently emitting from Mayor Mare.

"Somethin-ahhh-wrong bo-oh, yes, right there-boss?"

"Yes there is, I haven't got a dick in me and I'M the one in heat. And you've stopped eating me out" she pouted Blood moon still thrusting above her and Feather Heart's juices still dripping onto her. Feather hadn't noticed she'd stopped, but now that she thought about it, she'd found herself with her face resting against her boss's still moist folds, tongue lolling out. She'd gotten too caught up in the fucking she was receiving from the stallion inside her.

"I may be able to help with that" Blood moon reveals as he lifts Feather off of her, flipping Mayor round and over, putting her and Feather's marehoods together, then putting the secretary back down and returning to his efforts of pleasuring the sakura mane and tailed mare. He'd thrust into Feather a few times, pull out and plunge into Mayor Mare and after thrusting into her a few times, he'd return to Feather. Pleased by his efforts, Mayor went back to working her mouth again, clamping her lips over her assistant's and declaring war over her tongue, all the while they got to know each other's mouths one or the other would moan into the other's mouth, the reaction brought on by the stallion's intrusion into their folds. After a while of this, the assassin got a devious idea; when he went to Feather's sex, he rubbed his head along the slit, teasing up and down her moist hole, causing her to moan a little disappointedly, before calling over her shoulder:

"Hurry it up will you, in case you haven't noticed I'm a little horny right now." With no more time wasted, the assassin pushed his cock against their quivering clits, putting pressure on them they weren't expecting and getting them to scream out breathlessly. "Oh, bad colt" Feather, exclaims as she spins over and pushes Blood moon onto his back. Not giving him time to react, the secretary jumps onto his cock, letting him go deep in her. Resting on his member, she rotates her hips, a sultry grin on the mare's face as she teased him back, a revenge rut. Not content to sit by and watch, Mayor Mare trotted over to the stallion on his back and sat her marehood on his face, his tongue quickly striking out like a cobra inside her. The mare's mouths back together, they screamed and moaned into each other's mouths once more as they got close to their orgasms as the stallion bucked into the secretary's sex and ate the mayor out in unison. After a while of this the three of them felt pressure building in their respective sexes. Mayor squirted over and in the assassin's maw while Feather Heart and Blood moon came together, not worrying about unexpected foals considering only a mare on heat could get pregnant (unless special herbs and potions were used or Poison joke found it funny). Mayor toppled off the stallion's face, while Feather fell forward onto his chest, his cock still inside her, their faces close to each other.

"Have fun" Blood moon asked the mare who still had his member inside her. She replied by pulling his face to her own, their lips running over each other's in sync as her tongue demanded entry to his mouth, engaging the two in a long, moan filled, tongue wrestling kiss.

"That answer your question?" She the slid off his cock and fell next to him, Mayor Mare on the other side, the three laying there with cum covering them in various places. Mayor leans up and looks down Blood moon.

"Feather, clean him off will you?" The mare in question hums her agreement, moving down the stallion and lapping up the cum on his semi-hardened member. As she worked Mayor draped her right hoof over his chest and spoke into his ear. "I think you've persuaded me" she declared "there should be-ahhh, a little warning next time Feather-a few documents in one of those cabinets over the-a little, a little lower-there. There should be some deeds to the available houses in them. Take your-ohhhhh, yes, that's the spot, right there-take your pick." The stallion raised an eye brow.

"When do you want the bits?" The mayor looked up over her glasses from the mare who'd taken to eating her out between turns of licking the cum from Blood moon.

"Promise me more of that, and they'll be no need for bits" she answered. The stallion liked that arrangement. Mayor looked down at Feather. "Now, Miss Heart, I trust you'll be able to keep this to yourself." Said mare looked up at her boss and new favourite stallion.

"Promise me more of that, and you can bet your flank I'll stay quiet." She moved back up the assassin and draped her hoof over him, much like her boss, and lay contently next to him.

"I promise" he confirmed with a grin, the two mares responding by kissing him on either cheek. Oh yes, he would like this arrangement.

* * *

The assassin's eyes opened. He blinked a few times and frowned.

'_That was a weird dream…'_

He looked left and right; a mare was on either leg, his hoof wrapped over them, while their own were draped over his chest, small smiles on their faces. He blinked twice more as his memories came flooding back to him. That was no dream. With a grin on his face, he stood up, making sure not to disturb the mares. They seemed to miss his presence, frowning in their sleep, and looking for him with their hooves. The assassin used his magic to push them closer together, letting them get comfortable with each other, before he pulled his cloak off and covered them with it. A memento of their time together. Blood moon remembered what Mayor had told him, about the filing cabinet, and trotted over to it, careful to be silent. Opening one of the draws he takes a look at the content;

'_Got it in one.'_

He skims through the deeds and descriptions of the available houses; one in the middle of town, one way out on the outskirts, another in an apartment block, one inside a burrow and another situated on a hill. The one on the hill caught his interest. A modestly large house, basic two storey job, master bedroom and guest room, study, living room, modern kitchen, attic space, basement and room for a few expansions. The best part was the location; the hill was tall, looking over the town with only a few blind spots, it was detached from the rest of town but not so far away it was disadvantageous. It was also partially furnished, which was a plus. He memorised the general location and took the deed, leaving a small bag of bits in its place for the desk and the description so Mayor knew which he had chosen. He left the room, silent as ever, and made his way outside. On his way he spotted the time. Seven-fifteen, how long had he been asleep?

Outside, the town was winding down from its day; stores closing up, ponies returning home, foals being called in for supper. As he went he cast his eyes over the homes around him, glancing through the window of a townhouse he spotted a familiar looking electric blue mane. The assassin trotted up to the door of the houses, stopping at the door and knocked his hoof against the wood. He heard hoof steps from within before he heard voices.

"Coming" an undeniably upper class voice sang through the door. The door was not opened by who the stallion expected; instead the mare had light grey fur and a raven black mane and tail, kept in a functional, pretty and complementing do, the mane running flat down her neck, flicking up slightly at the end and the tail hanging free and loose but somehow staying in control of its owner. Her eyes were light purple, lavender, and spoke soft music and calm, beautiful sound. Her cutie mark was a purple treble clef, the same shade as her eyes. Her build was 'upper class' put simply, slender but muscled, though not too much as to make her too overly athletic, so she had more soft than hard in her. She had an impossibly pretty face that seemed laid back and calm but sophisticated in its own way. She wore a small pink bow-tie with a white collar on top of it. Her name was Octavia Melody. "Yes" she asked, not realising who it was. Her eye widened on recognition but the assassin held his hoof to his mouth to shush her. She grinned and played along. "Vinyl, it's for you" she called back into the house.

"Who is it" a voice called back.

"A messenger, says he's been looking for you, got something to deliver, your hooves only." The sound of hooves on floor boards were heard, Octavia ushering Blood moon into the shadows that further hid his face, as she looked at the corkboard next to the door, as to hide her grinning face from her marefriend.

"Miss Scratch" the assassin asked, his normally gravelly, dark voice disguised as a lower-end Manehatten accent. "I got a message for you, from some stallion." The mare waited before she raised an eyebrow.

"From what stallion?" Blood moon shrugged.

"Dunno, creepy fellow, black robe, couldn't see his face. Paid me a pretty sum to get it to you though." Vinyl sighed, it sounded like one pony she knew, but he didn't trust messengers to converse with others.

"Well, what is it then" she demanded.

"Now Vinyl, is that any way to speak to a friend" the assassin asked, old voice back, as he stepped from the shadows. The electric blue mane mare blinked at his sudden appearance.

"BLOOD MOON!" The mare's outburst was punctuated with her lunging out at him, they landed with her hooves wrapped around his neck, him on his back, her on his front and Vinyl planting kisses on every square-inch of his face. If she'd been wearing lipstick, it would have been a classic 'must have been good night' look for the dark stallion. "Sweet Celestia, I'm glad you're ok, I mean, I knew you were ok but I saw Pinkie, and you with that knife in you, then you were gone and nopony had seen you, and I'm just-just…oh, never do that to me again Black hood." The assassin was a little overwhelmed by the show of sincere affection; though felt he could deal with it until he felt the patch of wet on his shoulder.

"Vinyl, are you…crying?"

"Of course I am; one of my best friends just showed up, out of nowhere I might add, completely fine acting like nothing had happened, all the while I've been worried sick about you all day and night" she explains, pulling him further into her hold.

"It's true" Octavia confirms from the doorway. "When I got home this morning, she hadn't slept a wink of sleep last night and I couldn't get her to bed all day either." Blood moon looked between the two. Had Vinyl really been so concerned about him? He looked down at the mare on his chest and saw the truth in her eyes.

"Oh come 'ere" he said as he wrapped her in his own hug. "It'll take more than a homicidally insane, pink, sugar addicted, party throwing obsessed, strangely skilled knife-fighting mare" pause for breath "to keep me down." Vinyl giggled as she held him tighter.

"I know, it's just, I can't help worrying." The assassin raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Well, you're one of my best friends. I don't like seeing anything bad happen to you." Blood moon was fairly sure that Vinyl Scratch had no idea how much that meant to him. "That" one of her hooves disengaged her hug and strayed south on him "and I'll never find somepony quiet as good as…you" she tells him, the last word laced with confusion. She sniffed him a few times before looking back at him with a grin on her face. "What do you smell of" she half asked half accused. She'd noticed the sent that clung to him, the smell of sex being so distinctive and all, and put two and two together. "So, who's the lucky mare" she asked, the act of rubbing her genital against his not lost on him. Blood moon gave a mock 'busted' face before answering.

"Let's just say I now have…friends in high places." The DJ frowned as she did the math.

"Mayor Mare?" The assassin simply grunted. It was true that Vinyl was, perhaps, just a little jealous. But then again, if after; five tankards of cider, nineteen shots in a drinking contest and a mug of Appaloosa mugging, you could still remember the fun you and the stallion next to you had had the night before, you were bound to feel a little jealous. That said, DJ pon-3 knew that Black hood had very 'inclusive' tastes when it came to mares, he was indiscriminative like that. It went a bit quiet after that, not wanting to leave things on a low note, she spoke up again. "Well, next time you and her get together, be sure to call me and Tavi." Behind her, Octavia blushed but offered no argument. The assassin and DJ got up, Vinyl prompting her Marefriend down.

"So, what are you up to now" Octavia asked, doing nought but make conversation.

"Going to see my new place." Vinyl light up at that.

"You have a house in Ponyville?" He grinned and rubbed the back of his neck.

"A result of today's activities." Vinyl nodded, rubbing her chin with her hoof.

"Seduce the mayor, get a free house. Smart." The assassin's grin turned devious.

"Yeah, something like that…" The assassin checked the time with the time with the shadows of the building. "Speaking of homes, I should get moving. If you're wondering it's the place on the hill." Vinyl just nodded, while Octavia actually committed it to memory.

"Alright Black hood, we'll see you around" Vinyl gave as farewell. The assassin turned and parted ways with them, the pair of mares waving as he went. Finding the home didn't take too much longer. It was as he expected; basic two story job, thatch roof etc. etc. The furnisher was simple; couch in the front room, desk and bookshelf in the study, double bed in the bedroom. That was his destination; he'd had a long day and felt no need to lengthen it further. As he lay on mattress, soft but not too soft not bad, he thought about his day so far.

'_Well let's see; woke up with Pinkie pie, met her parents, broke up with my marefriend, met a being possibly older than myself, had sex with the mayor and her secretary and got myself a house. Yep, just another average day.' _

**A/N: Soooo yeah, you probably know what I'm gonna say here. You just read clop, and it was my first real attempt. Why was there clop here? Cause I felt like it and it's my fic, what are you gonna do! Anywho, thanks for reading drop a comment in the collection box, fave, follow and whatever. BTW 21 reviews? LOVES! I should start making more other fic references... Anyway**

**Productive faffer out. **


	14. Politics, tailors and learning to fight

Chapter fourteen: Politics, tailors and learning to fight

_I'm falling…_

_I don't know how…_

_I don't know why…_

_But what I do know…_

_Is that I'm bucking falling…_

_All's there is the feeling of weightlessness…_

_I can hear the air whistle past…_

_But I cannot feel it…_

_An odd sensation…_

_I suddenly hear the sound of battle…_

_Clamour, battle cries, the sound of metal on metal…_

_War…_

_I find myself in the middle of it…_

_All around me, there are ponies, griffons, dragons…_

_All fall to my blades…_

_I'm wearing the armour of the Illuminating night uprising…_

_Midnight black leather made from griffon hide…_

_Golden armour plating on my chest and body…_

_A black hood on my head…_

_On my back two black scabbards rest, held down by leather…_

_The weapons they held whistle overhead…_

_A pair of twin swords…_

_Steel blades, sharpened to a razor point…_

_The weapons are double edged…_

_Both sides are coated in blood…_

_The weapons, held in my magical grip..._

_Rend flesh from bone…_

_Fur from hide…_

_Feather from wing…_

_Scale from back…_

_The fire of the dragons set the field of battle ablaze…_

_I hear steps behind me…_

_I spin to attack…_

_As I do, the scene changes…_

_Halfway round I find myself off the field…_

_The long grassy meadow that rolled off into the distance…_

_Is replaced by the stone and rock of the mountains…_

_I am alone…_

_Accompanied only by the clouds of the night sky…_

_I the distance, I see Luna…_

_Soaring above the clouds…_

_With her, a large group of foals follow her…_

_Her mythical, 'children of the night'…_

_A cloud rolls over me, obscuring my vision…_

_When it rolls away, the times have changed…_

_Before Luna's time, or even Celestia's…_

_The time of Starswirl the Bearded…_

_How do I know…_

_He stands before me, on the same mountain as before…_

_He looks down at me, defiance in his eyes and power oozing from him…_

_I remember his curse…_

_His payment to his own shadow magic…_

_He became powerful, more so than any before or after…_

_And he thirsted for more…_

_His life was devoted to study, to the pursuit of knowledge…_

_And power…_

_This was his downfall and ultimately…_

_His demise…_

_The scene, once more, changes… _

_Changes dramatically…_

_No longer am I stood upon a great mountain…_

_No longer am I surrounded by clouds…_

_Or the night sky…_

_Instead I am sat upon a cushion…_

_Inside the Canterlot Palace…_

_Illumination and Nocturnal are nowhere to be seen…_

_Likely within the palace of Everfree, conducting the war…_

_I watch Celestia and Luna, spending some time together…_

_As foals should…_

_I look on fondly, Luna inside Celestia's pink tail, an adorable smile on her face as she bursts through her tail…_

_The elder sibling looks back at her younger sister, laughing with her…_

_As sisters should…_

_Off to the side, there unmade bed sits…_

_Their favourite stuffed toys next to the pillows…_

_Luna's star covered bear 'ursa-teddy'…_

_Celestia's fire coloured bird, her play phoenix…_

_Through the door, to the right of us, another alicorn enters…_

_Stark white fur and rose red mane and tail…_

_Faust…_

_She has them both go to bed, they complain but comply…_

_They get into bed and fall asleep instantly…_

_Faust looks over them, as much love in her gaze as mine…_

_I look out of the window, the balcony looking over Canterlot…_

_The moon goes down and the sun rises, faster than natural…_

_I hear a call in the sky, the call of a great bird…_

_A phoenix…_

_Philomena…_

_She watches me with narrowed, disapproving eyes…_

_I know this day…_

_It's the day I left Celestia, but a week after the end of the wars against Discord…_

"_I'm sorry Philomena, but you know as well as I, I cannot stay"…_

_She looks down, saddened, but makes no argument…_

_I put my hoof to her beak, lifting her gaze to mine…_

"_Look after her, please. I am no longer your master, she needs you more than I do"…_

_She makes her understanding known by nuzzling me…_

_With a heavy heart, I do the same…_

_I turn to the balcony, sparing a parting glance at Celestia's sleeping form, before leaping off…_

_I thunder down the road of Canterlot, little more than a dirt track…_

_My hooves pounding against the road, a constant beat in my ears…_

_A knocking, knocking in my ears…_

_Knocking…_

_Knocking…_

* * *

A constant banging on the door roused the assassin from his slumber. He blinked his eyes a few times, settling his thoughts. That dream had been different than most of his other dreams, normally he was held to a single place, a single scene from his past. Passing through so many was a new experience for him. A strange experience. The pounding on his door continued downstairs, pulling him from his stupor.

With a growl he throws the covers off of him, which he'd found in an airing cupboard, and made his way down to the door. He was weirdly groggy and felt drained; his mane was unkempt, well more so than usual, and he could feel the sand and grit in the corner of his eye. He threw his head to the side a few times to clear his head, and then resorted to slamming it on the wall. It proved to be surprisingly effective. He continued to the front door, his brain still feeling like mush, he reached forwards, putting his hoof on the doorknob and opening it to reveal the shapely figure of Feather Heart. He went to put a smirk on his face but one look at her worried expression told him this was no time for fooling around. Something was wrong.

"We may have a problem" was her greeting. He let his own expression turn darker at that; when the mayor's secretary appeared, telling you that there may be a problem, you knew the conversation wasn't going to end with a smile on your face.

"Come in" he said, motioning his head inside his new home. She took the invite, trotting in and watching him take a quick look outside the door, as if he were checking for something, an old habit from his days in Vietmane. He guided her into his living room, gesturing at her to sit on his sofa. "So, we have a problem?" Sat on her haunches on his couch, she looked at the floor.

"Uhhh, somepony _may _know about what we got up to yesterday." The assassin grimaced; somepony knowing about that would be bad for him, Mayor and Feather alike. He didn't get that; Mayor Mare was a mare, all mares got heat and all mares had needs, it was natural. Where was the problem in a mayor relieving herself? He wasn't all too bothered about his own situation; he already had a well established reputation as an assassin, so one incident involving a mare, himself and the mare in the picture being in season, wouldn't be much of a problem. Still, if this got out, it could explode into a scandal or something equally as undesirable; the media would have a field-day with this.

"Great" he groaned, voice dripping with sarcasm "who is it that has us by the tail then?" Feather shrugged.

"We don't know for sure, but Mayor has an idea. And her suspicions." The assassin nodded. "That's actually why I'm here, Miss Mayor didn't know who else to go to. You were the only one we could really trust enough to tell about this. She wants to see you." Blood Moon nodded.

"Alright, come on." He trotted right up to her and put his hoof on her before his horn flashed and they found themselves outside Mayor Mare's office, right next to Feather's desk. The mare besides him staggered around, looking like a camera flash had just gone off in her face. "Sorry about that" he says absentmindedly "should have warned you." It was painfully obvious he didn't care. Pushing through the door, he saw Mayor Mare sat behind her desk, presumably new. It was obvious from the way she looked she was…stressed from the predicament; frazzled mane, worried expression well it was from what he could tell considering she was holding her face in her hooves, she shook her head defeated, muttering something to herself. The assassin caught wind of a few choice curses. It was a seemingly impossible change from what he had seen of her yesterday; it was here he saw the governor of Ponyville and not the mare he'd got lucky with yesterday. Besides him, Feather cleared her throat to get Mayor's attention.

"Miss Mayor, Blood Moon's here" she announced. Mayor looked up at the pair, relief washing over her face but only for a second, almost immediately it was replaced by the defeated look that her face had held a moment ago.

"Hey" she murmured a faint smile on her face.

"I understand we have a problem." He got no answer; instead Mayor just pulled a brown envelope from a draw on her desk and slid it over the table to the assassin. He opened it with his magic to find one of those notes made from different letters of different headlines, cut from newspapers, it read:

UNLESS YOU WANT THESE GETTING OUT, I SUGGEST YOU STEP DOWN.

Held against the message were three pictures; one of him with Mayor's lips around his member; one of him with her over the desk (now destroyed); and the last was of Feather and Mayor Mare, their lips together, and Blood Moon mounting the two of them.

'_Ah, memories.'_

"That ain't good" he muttered "Do we have any idea who could have taken these?" The mayor nodded once, slowly.

"I think the Goldhooves may be making a move against Ponyville." Blood Moon gave her a blank look. "The Goldhooves are a large, and very powerful, noble family based in Canterlot, they have clawed their way to power through very…unorthodox methods." Blood Moon grunted.

"No doubt" he muttered "so, what do you mean, 'unorthodox methods'?" Feather Heart answered.

"The Goldhooves have a unique way of grasping power; they look for a large village or small town, such as Ponyville, and take measures to take it over." The dark stallion turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "It's true; they start small, relatively, by getting friendly with the biggest suppliers and businesses. For us that's Filthy Rich. Then, they go onto take influence over the guards by putting one of their sons, nephews or cousins in position of guard lieutenant."

The assassin nodded, so far it made sense; having hold over the supply chain gives them pick of the litter from some of the finest goods to grace the settlement, holding the position of lieutenant in your pocket gave you complete control over the guards. Blood Moon thought about the guard tree; the captain, Shining Armour, was at the top of the tree answering only to princess Celestia; below him were the lieutenants, they were put in charge of all guards in a village town or city; if the place was large enough, say Manehatten, then there would be sergeants scattered around who took orders from the lieutenant, passing them onto the grunts. He knew it would be impossible to push the captain off his podium but systematically undermining his influence was the next best thing.

"And now" Mayor pipes up "they're making the final move; they have the guards and the supply chain of Ponyville under their belts, so now they must be gunning for mayor" she pointed at the pictures "they're proof enough of that." Upon sight of the pictures she put her face back in her hooves with a hearty sigh.

"Surly you're over reacting, we can fix this together; I'll put a scare into anypony who poses a problem, off the records of course, and you can deal with the political side of things. Easy." She smirked half-heartedly.

"If that were the case, do you think I'd be speaking to you like this?" I

"No, I'm pretty sure he'd be on his back with his dick in your mouth" Feather muttered to herself a faint smile on her face. The assassin picked up on it and smirked at her comment.

"Well if that's the case, care to explain why everything is so doom and gloom?"

"Well, it seems that with Ponyville the way it is, they've taken…more extreme measures, to take over." Again, the assassin raised an eyebrow. "The master of the family, Sir Loaded Goldhooves, personally negotiated relations with Filthy Rich; their eldest son, Hardhoof Goldhooves, is lieutenant of the guard in Ponyville; and their best educated daughter, Quillrunner Goldhooves, is being groomed to become next mayor for Ponyville. They've taken a much more personal interest in Ponyville than any other town they've moved on." The assassin stroked his chin, feeling the stubble that had grown there.

"So, what's set to change if they do take over?"

"Well just look at the other villages they've taken over; White-gallop, one of the most peaceful milling towns in Equestria, was turned into a central woodcutting settlement, focused on business; Sin's-row, that beach resort, was turned into a rich-stallion's resort, focused on business; and Iron-port, the mining and shipping town, lost any and all charm and friendly aspects and was turned into a heartless industrial settlement, focused on business, to name a few. They suck all the heart out of the places they take over, turning them into pure money makers. I'd hate to see what they could do to Ponyville." The assassin was starting to see the big picture, turning Ponyville into one of those heartless cash-pumps would result in anypony not part of the major corporation that would run the place out of a job and likely out of their homes and livelihoods. He couldn't allow that.

"Why are the Goldhooves so invested in Ponyville anyway? I mean, it can't be that much different than any other town financially, which seems to be what they're after." Mayor sighed through her nose.

"Because there's more to Ponyville than just business; for one, we're in the centre of Equestria; two Ponyville is home to the elements of harmony; and three Ponyville is very close to Canterlot. But that's not what worries me, if it were this wouldn't be as bad, still bad but not as much as it is now, it's just that…the ponies that live here are more delicate than most other towns, you need a practised hoof to be an effective leader here. You ever wonder why I'm called 'Mayor' Mare? It would be awkward if I were a store keeper wouldn't it, the reason I'm called that because my father and predecessor, Chancellor Stallion, groomed me for mayor-hood personally, but not just to become mayor of any town, Ponyville in specific. He taught me how to effectively govern this town because he knew nopony else could properly do it."

"Why would it be so difficult to govern this town?" Mayor Mare grunted amusedly.

"Well you've met a lot of our residents, so you know first hoof how…odd they can get sometimes, also, we're right on the edge of the Everfree."

"That and we're right next to Tartarus" Feather adds. That got the assassin's attention.

"Say what!?"

"The gateway to Tartarus is only a few miles westward, hay, Fluttershy takes Cerberus cookies every Wednesday." The dark stallion blinked.

"Huh."

"Yes, that too, but with those two rather blatant threats nearby, the 'uniqueness' of some of the residents and the delicate business flow, it takes a real resident of Ponyville and somepony who really knows what they're doing to keep a rein on things here. So you see my problem, and indeed the problem Ponyville as a whole, has right now." Blood Moon nodded his understanding.

"Alright, can you give me any details on the Goldhooves, anything would be useful." Mayor Mare shrugged.

"Not much is really known about them, they stay quiet so nopony can use anything against them."

"They can use blackmail against anypony to get what they want, but anypony using it against them would just be inequine" Feather comments with a roll of her eyes.

"The only good information we have is this: Hardhoof is as bent as they come, and everypony knows it, only we can never get any proof."

"Right, well it's something. I'm gonna start with finding out who took the photos, for all we know it may not be the Goldhooves and we're getting paranoid-"

"And lucky" Feather interjects.

"And it's just some political opponent trying their hoof at some more under-hoofed tactics to win next election or something." He takes another look at the pictures and pays closer attention to the details; they're taken from outside judging by the window frame over the image, possibly from one of the rooftops going on the downwards angle. He trotted over to the window and peered out.

'_Note to self; reframe from sex in front of large windows in the future.'_

Looking at the buildings across the way, he guessed it was the apartment block that served as the vantage point of their mystery photographer.

"Alright, I'm gonna take a look at where I think they took the pictures from and ask around, see if anypony knows anything." The mayor nodded.

"Alright, I'll stay here and try to dig more information for you. I'll have Feather Heart fetch you as soon as I have something."

"Thanks, I have a friend who may be able to help. Between the four of us, we should be able to smooth this over soon enough." The mayor seemed relived at that.

"Thank you Blood Moon, you have no idea how much this means to me." The assassin gave a lopsided smile.

"I have an idea."

"Either way, I'll owe you." Blood Moon nodded. He turned and went to leave before he was called after. "Oh, and your cloak" she said motioning to a familiar black robe hanging from a hook on the wall. He smirked at his old friend and pulled it over to himself with his magic, fastening it around his neck.

"Thanks for holding on to it." The Mayor shrugged.

"It looks better on you." The dark stallion shrugged in a silent laugh. He turned to the door and departed with nothing else said. Outside the mayor's secretary's office he paused for thought.

'_Shit, it would seem, just hit the fan. If the Goldhooves really are behind this, then I may be declaring war on a family of aristocrats. SCORE! Anyway, I'd better get to it; maybe Sand Stalker will know something. He keeps his ear to the ground so he's bound to know at least something about these guys, but I need solid proof before I do make any assumptions or make any direct moves against them. Either way, I feel a contract coming on, after all; it's not like a made a vow to give up my business.'_

As he went to exit the town hall he heard his name called.

"Blood Moon, wait up!" Said killer turned to see Feather Heart galloping towards him.

"What's up" he asked nonchalantly. As the words left his mouth he could see the heat rise in her face.

"Well it's just, after what happened yesterday" she trailed off, blush on her face and her right hoof rubbing her left leg nervously. The assassin grinned and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes" he prompted.

"Well, I've never been the kind of mare who sleeps with somepony after the first date, never mind when I'd just met them. But after you so readily helped us, you seem kind of nice, soooo." The record scratched. Blood Moon could feel his body tensing and he stood a little straighter. Surly she wasn't… "I was wondering if you wanted to… meet or something." The stallion blinked, that wasn't what he had expected. He searched for words.

"You…you mean like a date?" Believe it or not, this wasn't something he was used to; he hadn't ever had what you might call a 'real' relationship, in fact, he'd only had two that could be counted as a normal one, neither of which had worked out. Throughout his life he had been in numerous relationships, pretty much all of which had been under aliases or for the purpose of a contract, business. Only three mares had been close to Blood Moon himself like that; Vinyl, Ditzy and…his…old friend. Now, apparently, Feather Heart was to be added to that short list. The mare before him seemed to notice his lack of words and looked at the floor, her hooves shuffling awkwardly.

"I-it's fine if…if you don't want to" she murmured, scratching the back of her neck. The assassin quickly blinked and shook his head rapidly.

"Uhhh, no, I mean yeah I'd love to, it's just I don't get asked out that often" he explained, scratching the back of his neck, hating the fact that he sounded like a schoolcolt again.

'_Just another sign that I haven't grown up yet'_ he thought with a smirk.

"Oh, great" she replied, apparently shocked "I guess I'll see you…"

"Tomorrow, when do you get off work?"

"I have a half-hour break at noon."

"I'll pick you up, see you then" the assassin suggested with a smile. He got a smile and a nod in return before she bade him farewell. Once outside he slapped himself to pull himself out of his 'first date' mentality. He had a job to do, and he would do it to the best of his ability. Though he still couldn't drop that slight grin on his face.

Rounding the Town hall until he came to the apartment block he looked up at its towering form. With a shrug he commenced his search. He began by looking around the space between the two buildings, likely looking a little odd to the ponies passing by, as he cast his eyes over every surface looking for anything out of place. A useless venture, all and all, those pictures had been taken yesterday and there had been a full night and half a day to screw up anything that may have been there, still it was better than not checking and missing something and checking and not missing something that wasn't there in the first place.

"You drop a contact lens?" The assassin looked up and saw Sand Stalker, without sword on his back, he stood with a confused smirk on his face and his head held at a bemused angle.

"What are you doin' out of the Hoof and anvil?" The merc shrugged.

"Rainbow would know to find me there" he explained. This caused the assassin to frown.

"What do you mean?" The merc looked around himself before answering.

"The other day, I told her about how I know her and her dad."

"So?"

"Well I freaked out, didn't I! I have no idea how she'll react to learning something like that." Blood Moon spotted a moving blur behind the elderly Pegasus.

"It seems you're about to find out" he noted, nodding behind the merc. Sand Stalker's eyes widened as he wiped his head around, spotting the rainbow mane and tailed mare that stood a few meters behind him.

'_Ohhhh, she's pissed' _was the only thought to enter the dark stallion's mind. Given the situation, it was appropriate; Rainbowdash held herself offensively, her eyes narrowed, her ears pushed against her head and her wings were held tensely, ready to fly.

"Crap" the merc muttered. Blood Moon removed himself from the situation by sending his gaze back to the ground, but stayed close by so he could listen in.

"Rainbow, listen-"

"You're damn straight am listenin' you damn old stallion; you've got a lot of explaining to do!" The mercenary swallowed. He'd been in a lot of tight situations before; ambushed by griffons, an assassin chasseing him down and a pack of Timberwolves on his scent for two days. This wasn't something he could deal with, he wasn't somepony who could deal with other ponies too well. This wasn't something he could just fight.

"I'm sorry."

"You've got a lot to apologise for" she squared straight up to him. "Do you know what my foalhood was like? When my mom and dad died I had nopony, NOPONY! Then a few days ago, some old stallion comes into my life, I don't know who he is but he says he knows me. Then he tells me he knew my dad and he knew me as a foal. Y'know what I figured out when I was trying to get to sleep that night? I realised that I remembered him" She moved closer, pushing her enraged muzzle into his face "And that he made a promise to my dad, to look after me. My dad was dead, and you weren't there. I could have had a better foalhood, if you were there, if you'd kept your promise but you didn't, did you?"

"Rainbow-"

"DID YOU?"

"NO, no I didn't" he admitted. At this Rainbowdash backed up and prepared to take flight.

"Whatever happened to loyalty" she wondered aloud, tears in her eyes. That hit a soft spot with the stallion, though rather than getting sad, he got angry.

"Do you want to know why" he growled. The mare stopped her accent, but didn't land. "Barely a day before your dad died I came home to my wife and child: dead. It tore me apart and I knew when I burnt down a village singled hoofed, I was in no fit condition to look after a child and I was right to have gone back to the army and not stay with you." Rainbow landed in front of Sand Stalker. She opened her mouth to say something but the merc wasn't finished. "I killed the soldiers protecting them and hunted down the mares. Then I burnt the building domn to make sure I did the job properly. I couldn't have a family, so why should anypony else?" The merc locked his jaw once he was done; his eyes narrowed and regret clear in his eye. The mare took a step closer to Sand, not offensive but it definitely noticeable.

"I don't care what you did" she told him softly "you should have kept your promise. I wanted my uncle. I wanted, needed, family." With that she turned and took to the skies.

"DAMNIT" the merc exploded a few minutes after she had gone, slamming his hoof to the ground in frustration. He looked to the assassin. "I need to kill something" he growled.

"You can try, but I won't make it easy" the assassin said absentmindedly.

"What are you doing anyway" the mustered stallion demanded, still obviously pissed off.

"It's a long story."

"I need something to take my mind off Rainbow, humour me." The dark stallion took a deep breath through his nose as he considered; he'd been hoping to get Sand Stalker involved but under better circumstances. After a second he threw caution to the wind and told all. He pulled the merc to the side of the street and told him what had happed between him, Feather and Mayor Mare, sparing few details. Once he was done the elderly merc was smirking slightly.

"Ok: one, score, two, hang back on the details next time, three, follow you own advice about the windows, four, if you're right about the Goldhooves being involved, you're screwed and five, I never took you for a detective." The assassin shrugged.

"Fair answer…answers. Anyway, that's why I wanted to call you in; from what I can tell, you're a decent eye for detail and you managed to figure me out in about a day so you may be able to make sense of this better than me or Mayor."

"Well it's good to be of use" he muttered "but you do know if the Goldhooves are behind this, chances of having anything done about this are slim to none-existent." The assassin grinned.

"Slim to none-existent, on the books my friend." The merc returned the grin.

"So, do you have anything?" At this Blood Moon looked over the space between the buildings with distaste.

"Not a thing, but I wasn't really expecting to either. I'm banking on the fact that if there is anything; it'll be up on the roof where the pictures were taken" he explained, nodding at the building they were stood next to. Sand Stalker nodded and motioning for the assassin to lead the way. He did so and went to the door, locked.

"Crap. You wouldn't just happen to have any-" the assassin had pulled a pair of small metal sticks from a small sleeve under his middle pouch. What, you thought he carried nothing but throwing knives, navigation equipment and medical supplies? "-Lock picks?" The assassin smirked and went to work on the door, his hooves pushing against his tools to keep them in place and rotating them to work the door, listening to the soft tapping as he worked the tumblers for a few minutes, the merc keeping lookout. When the final bolt dropped he straightened up and pushed the door opened with a self-satisfied smile on his face. The two trotted in and started climbing the stairs. "So?" Blood Moon looked back at his friend.

"So, what?"

"So, do you have anything to say? About me and Dash." The assassin stopped on one of the landing and turned to Sand Stalker.

"I won't judge you, I know what it's like losing a wife and child, it's… not easy to live with that. But at the same time…Rainbow had a point. Make a promise, you should keep it, especially one of that magnitude, looking after a newly orphaned foal. I...won't take a side here, but I suggest you, at least try, to make amends with her. You both need it."

"What do you mean 'both need it' Moon" he asked with narrowed eyes. In return, the assassin shrugged.

"You lost a wife and child, she lost her parents. You both have something to offer each other. By the way, I was wondering, how come you're the only pony that can look after her? I mean come on, no other uncles, aunts or anything. No other friends?" Sand Stalker shook his head before passing by and continuing up the stairs, the assassin following him up.

"Believe it or not, yes. Rainbowshine and Blazing Trails were both in the army, they were…" the way he trailed off made the assassin curios as to what their position was in the forces. "Well I'd tell you only it's-"

"Don't give me any classified bull shit. I'm an immortal assassin who used to foal sit Celestia and Luna, I used to be their personal bodyguard and then went on to become one of their most formidable generals, I'm pretty sure I'm entitled to a few military ranks." The merc shrugged.

"Whatever, they were special, VERY special, forces. They performed most of, buck, all of the black ops; assassinations, sabotage, stealing enemy plans, kidnapping, surveillance and the such. Y'know, the kind of stuff you got up to and the kind of stuff I did." Blood Moon nodded, though inwardly he was impressed; he couldn't imagine Rainbowdash's parents as secret military ops. He was about to comment on the seemingly unlikeliness of it when he caught the mercenary's face. He didn't need his gift to know he was holding something back.

"I get the feeling something happened to them, something that killed them. Op gone wrong?" The merc shook his head, the assassin couldn't help but notice the slight 'pissed off' look his face held.

"No, worse; a price was put on their heads, a big price, I'm talkin' more than Celestia and Luna combined. That and they had multiple factions on their tails; the griffons, the Changelings, the followers of Discord bucking all of their targets and they were a big list. There were two ways it could have gone down; either, they lived forever in fear of death, always moving, fighting to live and you know what? They could have done that I think. Their exploits are legendary; wrath of Celestia, palace diamond dog, raven fire…all of them were their operations." Blood Moon whistled appreciatively; he'd heard of all of those operations and he knew none had failed and he'd always wanted to meet their architects.

"Wow, I heard about them, what were they called uhhh, _Ventus_ and_ Ignis_, wasn't it?" The mustard merc nodded, and spoke in a way that told him that he was running fond memories through his mind.

"Yep, wind and fire" he said with a smile on his face before he sighed wistfully. "The other choice was to…die. I trust you see where this is going." The assassin did the math. His face slackened.

"You don't mean…" Sand Stalker nodded once.

"Yes. Rainbowshine and Blazing Trails are still alive" he sighed once more "and their daughter doesn't even know." After he said that he pushed his way through another door, went to the edge of the roof and paused. The assassin shook his head and followed.

"That…that isn't right. A foal should be with her parents, not have to grow up alone, no matter the circumstances." He turned his gaze to the merc. "Am I the only one on this roof who wants to tell her?" Sand Stalker gave a 'you got me there' look and shrugged.

"No but…think of the consequences; she'd find out that her parents were alive the whole time but weren't there for her. The same way I wasn't. I mean, what would you do in her hooves?"

"I hated my parents, but if they were anything like what I can assume Dash's parents were like, I'd react pretty badly. Like what she said to you but without mercy. Still…I think she deserves to know." The merc shrugged.

"Maybe she dose…but her parents deserve to stay on the down low. It's a catch twenty-two: reveal your existence and die or keep everypony you love thinking you're dead so you can live." The assassin nodded and turned back to the rooftop.

"True enough. Anyway, we should get to looking around." The two proceed to move further onto the roof.

"We looking for anything in specific" the merc asked.

"Anything out of place, it looks like it doesn't belong, check it out. Then we move onto what dose belong and we check that. I want every wall looked at, every square-inch of floor searched, every stone turned and every candy wrapper scrutinized."

"Well, good to see you have the specifics down" the merc muttered. The assassin grunted and got to searching; for an hour the two poured over every surface, looking for anything that resembled a clue. In the end, neither turned up with anything so they expanded their search to looking at pretty much everything. Another few hours later, again, neither had anything to show for their time.

"Son of a whorse" the mercenary muttered to himself in frustration. The assassin knew how he felt; he didn't like the fact he had nothing going on for himself and nothing to show for his efforts. He looked over the side of the building, at what he deduced to be the vantage point of the photographer and looked down to the window.

'_Yep, this is defiantly it. It can't have been anywhere else surly. I hope not anyway, I don't want to have wasted the day.'_

He was about to call it a day when he passed his gaze along the ground he was on and caught sight of…something. It was feint, very feint, and he likely would have missed it if he was without his keen sense of sight and if it had rained last night. It looked like a stain or puddle of some sort. He couldn't identify it and raised an eyebrow at it as he attempted to do so.

"Hey Sand, come over here" he called over to the mustard stallion. Said merc approached and was about to ask what the matter was but saw his friend staring at a seemingly regular piece of floor. He took a closer look, a much closer look, and found what he was starting at.

"What…what is that" he wondered aloud. The assassin leaned in close and let his sense of smell take over. He quickly recoiled and put a disgusted look on his face. "What" the merc asked with a bemused smirk on his face.

"That…it…you don't wanna know" he told him running his hoof over his face in further disgust.

"Oh I'm sure I do" he answered. Blood Moon shot him an agitated look before he looked between the 'thing' and the stallion in a way that hinted at the answer. The mustered stallion frowned and then his jaw dropped. "Aw buck no!" The assassin nodded in a 'you asked for it' kind of way. "You mean he was…while he was watching you…and taking photos…Discord's antlers that stallion's got some problems and…he's… pretty good at multi-tasking when you think about" he finished quickly.

"Well, you ain't lying" Blood Moon murmured. He looked back over the rest of the roof top and hoped to see something neither had seen earlier, though he was fairly sure that this was the only thing he had. He sighed, heavily, and turned back to the mark on the floor.

"You have any way to get that up" the merc asked. The dark stallion frowned and scratched the back of his neck. His horn sparked to life and his lower pouch opened itself and his empty syringe floated out and put the needle to the ground. He then pulled back on the plunger and lifted it to his face. Inside the barrel a small amount of the substance sat and with a shake of his head he put it back in his pouch. "So, let's take a head count: buck all and a syringe of jizz."

"Well, we know one thing: whoever we're dealing with is half moron, half professional. He's left no other evidence."

"Well the thing he did leave behind was pretty major and moronic. How does that work?" The assassin looked over at the merc.

"You ever tried to think straight right after-"

"That's enough" the mustard stallion cut in. He took a deep breath through his nose to calm himself. "So now what?"

"I'm planning on asking around, any rumour is good enough for me. I need to find out if anything unusual has happened lately."

"Well in that case you'll want to speak to Rarity, she may not look it but she knows a lot of, hay, pretty much all the rumours and gossip in and around Ponyville. I don't know how she gets wind of everything but she does." The assassin nodded and turned to the doorway. "You want me to do anything to help out? I'm pretty sure this is gonna cause problems for more than just you and the mayor."

"Maybe, can you dig up anything on the Goldhooves? Mayor is already on it but I'd rather somepony of your station looking into it as well."

"I know a few guys who owe me some favours. One or two of them may be able to find something out about them, but I won't make any promises; the Goldhooves are known for keeping all their dirty little secrets far, far away from them. I actually worked for them on a few occasions, they ain't nice ponies." Blood Moon descended the last flight of stairs and opened the door.

"That's pretty much what Mayor Mare told me, either way, I'm gonna see what Rarity knows and then try and find anything out for myself." Sand Stalker nodded and bade the assassin farewell before turning and trotting into the marketplace, disappearing into the crowds.

Blood Moon turned away and went his own way; he went south, towards where he believed Rarity's tailor to be located. He arrived quickly and was immediately struck by her place of work; it looked like a frilly circus tent of some sort with pinks, sky blues, purples and dark and light oranges. It was decorated with numerous ornaments, a pair of pony outlines on the second level and a red flag on top. He could only imagine that Rarity had designed the place herself. He pushed open the door and looked around himself; he was surrounded by large amounts of materials and fabrics, familiar and foreign, pretty much all the colours in the spectrum lying at his hooves. Ahead of him a white furred mare was working at a sewing machine with a familiar filly sat next to her.

"Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique and magnifique" Rarity's voice sang out.

"Hmm, catchy, it rhymes too" he said absentmindedly as he continued to look around the room. She turned around at the sound of the assassin's dark voice.

"Ah, mister Moon. How nice to see you" she greeted. Blood Moon gave a slight bow, remembering proper etiquette around a lady.

"And you Rarity, but please call me Blood Moon. I've never been one for titles like that." The mare shrugged and got off her stool, sat behind her desk.

"Very well Blood Moon, now what may I…?" She didn't finish her question; instead as she got closer to the dark stallion her eyes were locked onto his chest, she frowned as she scrutinized his vest. After a few seconds her lower jaw appeared to gain a few tones as it hung a good foot below her muzzle, a slight line of drool running down her mouth. "Is…is that" she swallowed "R-_Robus_ weave?" The assassin took a few steps back.

"It is" he answered, warily.

"What is it Rarity" Sweetie-Belle asked from besides her.

"Sweetie-Belle, do you have ANY idea just how rare _Robus-_weave is." The filly looked between the mare and stallion in confusion.

"Well, let me put it to you like this" the assassin answered for her "if you were to raid Canterlot palace, steal all the riches to be found within, then rob EVERY bank in Equestria, THEN hold Celestia and Luna prisoner and demand ransom of the highest amount, you would still have to sell the Canterlot palace and rob a dragon's stash of gems to pay for this."

"Woooow" she drawled with wide eyes.

"Uh-huh. The only way to get it is to have a dragon, at least as old as myself, weave the scales of another dragon, again at least as old as myself, into the desired shape."

"That's amazing, but how do you _weave _a dragon's scales?" The assassin grinned.

"That's why only a dragon can make the stuff." He suddenly noticed the discreet breeze on his chest and noticed his vest was no longer there. Blood Moon looked up in alarm until he noticed that Rarity was a little away across the room with his vest held in her magical grip. His expression fell as he saw her gazing at it with wide, sparkling eyes.

"_Robus-_weave, here in my boutique" she whispered, sounding like Celestia herself had just ordered something from her. The stallion and the filly just glanced at each other as they watched her.

"Rarity, I dare say the condition of that vest is not what you're used to dealing with" he comments in an attempt to pry her away from one of his most prised possessions. She didn't seem to hear him through the walls of her own little world. With a sigh, the assassin trotted up to her and stopped besides her, he waved his hoof in front of her face, un-phased, he tapped her on the head a few times, much of the same.

"RARITY" he bellowed right into her ear, still no response. In the end, his decision punctuated with another sigh, he resorted to more desperate measures; he reached forward with his right hoof and put it at the base of her horn before running it up to the tip, massaging one of the most sensitive parts of her body. Rarity quickly responded to his touch with a pleased shudder, closing her eyes slightly, revealing her sky blue eye shadow, letting a blush kiss her cheeks and a light moan escaping her lips. Her concentration lost, she fell to her flank still in her bliss as the assassin looked on amused at how this meeting had turned out. The mare regained her senses as another groan escaped her.

"B-Blood Moon, this is hardly appropriate" she drawled, a slight smile on her face. Her eyes snapped open and she hopped away from him "Blood Moon, please, control yourself!"

"You're one to talk" he smirked "stealing my vest and then sitting there enjoying a horn massage, I took you for a mare of proper manners." Rarity feigned hurt, putting a hoof to her chest.

"How could you" she asked with an overly dramatic hoof to her fore-head "and you're barley a proper gentlecolt yourself, taking advantage of me in such a way." They both took to chuckling after the short ordeal. "Now, you must have come here for a reason mister Blood Moon" she determined as she slipped the vest back over his head "may I ask as to why?" She took a look over his attire "perhaps you desire some new clothing?" The assassin looked at his garb, guessing the mare was unimpressed with the mostly destroyed cloak, hood and vest.

"Maybe one day Rarity, for now, however, I need information." Rarity gave an exited gasp.

"Oh how positively _noir, _the femme fatal, the private eye in the shade of night, the smoky alleyways and moon lit nights." She put a hoof to her chin in thought "I wonder how I would perform as an information broker" she murmured to herself.

"Well maybe we'll be able to find out; what do you know about the Goldhooves?" As the name left his mouth he could see the distaste in her expression.

"Oh, don't get me started on them" she huffed "they're nothing but a bunch of stuck up nobles of the _worse _kind. They even had the audacity to _insult _my work."

"The nerve" Blood Moon said with a flat face. "Rarity, do you know anything about them" he repeated. Rarity made a show of looking around them before leaning in conspiratorially.

"Well, rumour is, the master and lady of the family's eldest daughter, Quillrunner, has been seen around Ponyville, with no cause and Loaded Goldhooves, the family's master, has been seen with Filthy Rich these last few months" she told him, a hoof at the side of her maw. The two backed up, Blood Moon with a hoof to his chin.

"Interesting" he murmured, committing the information to memory "Rarity, do you know how the Goldhooves managed to become wealthy?" The mare shook her head. "They take control over villages and towns; it starts with the large merchants of the place, then the guards and finally, they move for position of mayor. So far, it seems they've made friendly with Filthy Rich, put one of their own in position of guard lieutenant and now-"

"They're trying to become mayor of Ponyville" she finished, with a shocked and worried expression "that is, of all the worst things that could happen, this is _the! Worst! Possible!-_"

"RARITY, this is no time for dramatics, you need to remain calm. I'm going to go out and think about what I can do about this." Rarity blinked a few times.

"Excuse me?"

"What?"

"You said you were going to do something about this?"

"I did."

"Well, it's just, not many ponies asides the elements of harmony would so readily go out and protect Ponyville." The assassin shrugged.

"Not many ponies are me." With that he headed for the door.

"Blood Moon, stop" said assassin turned "I simply cannot allow you to trot out of my boutique without at least some concepts in the works." Once more, the assassin smirked.

"I appreciate it Rarity but-" as he spoke a vivid-blue aura surrounded him and he found himself floating over to a pedestal surrounded by mirrors "well, seems I don't have much of a choice do I?" Another blue aura swept over him and his vest, hood and cloak flew off of him and levitated over to Rarity. "You have gotta teach me that spell" he announced with a face slackened in awe. Rarity frowned in confusion.

"Pardon me?"

"The spell to strip a pony bare, imagine the possibilities." The mare took a second to click; once she did she put a hoof to her mouth and giggled another blush on her face.

"Well, not all of them" she said, motioning at the belt still around his waist. Blood Moon looks down to it, unsurprised that it remained; he'd personally enchanted it to defend against any magical attempts to remove it besides his own, the only way for anypony else to remove it was to get close enough to do it by hoof. This was exactly what Rarity was doing.

"Easy there" he said, a sly grin on his face.

"Oh please, this is simply revenge for earlier." The assassin laughed.

"Last time a mare said that to me when I gave them a horn massage, I ended up sleeping with her." Rarity giggled.

"Don't tempt me" she whispered. The assassin heard.

"I wouldn't mind actually" Blood Moon informed. Rarity squeaked in embarrassment.

"Sweetie-Belle" she called, trying to change the subject, the filly in question appearing at her side within moments. Rarity stood up for a second and sniffed the dark stallion's garments before pulling back in disgust.

"Yes Rarity" she responded, clearly eager to help her sister.

"Take these to the laundry room, will you?" She levitated the black and grey wears over her awaiting sister's head before dropping them on her.

"Sure thing Rarity" came the filly's muffled voice, the pile then moved towards one of the back rooms like a small rag monster. Rarity, meanwhile, had released the belt and took a look at it before cringing.

"Leather" she asked in a voice that hoped she was wrong. Blood Moon nodded.

"Made from manticor hide" he clarified.

"Well, as a seamstress, I suppose I can see its…uses" she conceded, floating it over to a nearby table.

She then went to work with a tape measure, gauging his legs, back, neck and everything else.

"Now let's see. You have a muscled physic, a laidback stance" she moved to face him "a characterful face" she murmured "you strike me as a pony who doesn't care much for who doesn't care for refinement more a…rugged taste, am I right?" She cocked her head to the side and put a hoof to her chin "I'm thinking something dark, with plenty of character, motion…IDEA!" She then dashed out of the room leaving a puff of smoke where she had once stood. The assassin glanced at Sweetie-Belle, whom had reappeared when he was being measured, who glanced back and shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's not as bad as it usually is; sometimes she can go on a tandem for hours on end, once she was sat talking to herself about a whole new fashion line for about a day. It was really weird; I couldn't even get her to eat the breakfast I made."

"Why do I get the feeling she may have a problem" he asked nopony in particular as he turned back to the door Rarity had disappeared into. "So you made her breakfast, I noticed you don't have a cutie mark yet…"

"No, I'm not really into cooking, if that's what you're getting at."

"No good at it" he asked.

"Yeah, all's I really managed to do was burn everything."

"It can't have been that bad."

"I served her burnt toast." The stallion raised an eyebrow expectantly. "In a glass." Blood Moon blinked a few times.

"Been there sister" he admitted.

"Really?" The assassin nodded, remembering that one time the cook in Canterlot palace was ill and nopony was there to cover for her, so he had to take things into his own hooves. It didn't go well. "Well anyway, me and the rest of the Cutie mark crusaders are trying everything we can to find our special talents." Blood moon hopped off the podium Rarity had left him on, sat on his flank, and leant against it.

"I'm probably gonna regret this but, what's a 'Cutie mark crusader'?" She practically exploded with excitement.

"Me, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom are going around doing whatever it takes to earn our cutie marks." The assassin blinked.

"Why?" Sweetie-Belle looked distraught.

"What do you mean 'why'? We're the only ones in Ponyville who don't have our cutie marks yet!" Blood Moon smirked knowingly but dropped the point.

"So, what have you tried so far?" Sweetie-Belle's legs seemed unable to support her weight as she fell to the floor with her flank in the air and a pout on her face.

"Everything" she exclaimed.

"You can't have done everything" the assassin argued.

"Well it sure feels like it, we've tried everything from creature catching to bowling and everything else in between, even sky-diving" she gave a particularly heavyhearted sigh "I don't think we'll ever find our cutie marks."

"Well, what haven't you tried?"

"We haven't not tried nothing."

"Double negative" he muttered "well that can't be true; if you did you'd have your cutie mark by now."

"Well duuh, we haven't tried EVERYTHING, I mean we haven't tried anything like dragon taming." She put a hoof to her chin and hummed in thought.

"No dragon taming" he scolded.

"Hey, you aren't my-" she looked at his narrowed red eyes. "Yes sir."

"So what do you like doing, like a hobby or something outside your 'crusading'?"

"I like helping Rarity out with the dressmaking."

"You any good at it?"

"Not especially, but I appreciate the effort" Rarity called from her room.

"Well that answers that" Blood Moon mutters "but that sounds more like work to me, what do you do just for enjoyment?"

"I mostly just do crusading with the others." The assassin mentally face hoofed.

"Maybe you're destined to forever help others find their mark? Have a cutie mark of a cutie mark or something." The filly looked like she'd just been told she was going to die in a few days.

"You mean I'll never get my cutie mark?" The stallion's face fell flat.

"That's not what I said, besides, everypony has a talent of some sort. You just need to be patient, you'll find it eventually." She sat on her flank with her fore-hooves crossed.

"You're just like the other adults, 'be patient this' and 'just wait that' it doesn't help us find our cutie marks." The assassin smirked.

"Ok, have you ever had anypony make a passing complement to you or suggest you do something but you never thought you could or thought you wouldn't enjoy it?" She thought about it for a second.

"Yeah, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo always say that I'm a good singer, one time they even said that I should sing when we were in the talent show, but I don't think I could sing in front of a crowd. How'd you know?" Blood moon raised an eyebrow.

"Stage fright? Wouldn't your friends be there to support you?"

"Yeah but I'd have to be up there alone. It's scary."

"No, Sweetie-Belle, singing in front of a bunch of ponies isn't scary, you know what is?"

"What" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Dragon taming and creature catching, hay, so is sky-diving but you did both of them and you were prepared to go out looking for dragons, I know stallions who would gallop for the hills at the mere thought."

"That's because we knew there's always the chance of us getting our cutie marks" she argued.

"And there's no chance of getting it by singing, is there?"

"But it's scaaaary" she moaned in the cutest way possible. "You wouldn't know what it's like, standing on a stage with hundreds of ponies staring up at you, waiting for you to start and then you freeze up and-and" she trailed off as she imagined the image.

"Well you got me there" he admitted "why don't you start off small."

"What do you mean?"

"Surly you know what 'start off small means' Sweetie-belle?"

"Yeah, it's the opposite of starting off big."

"Smart flank" he grinned "what I mean is start off simple, I dunno, maybe sing to your sister and her friends."

"Or maybe I could sing with you right now" she suggested with gusto. Blood Moon simply blinked.

"What?"

"I could sing with you, that way you could help me along if I got it wrong!"

"I don't know" he said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Plaeaaaaaase" she begged, getting in his face with giant eyes.

"That doesn't work with me" he told her, laidback. Sweetie-Belle leaned back with a surprised look on her face.

"W-what, but it always worked before." The assassin grunted, bemused.

"Let's just say, I have experience with puppy dog eyes" he answered "but sure, I'll sing with you."

"But, what should I sing?" The assassin shrugged nonchalantly.

"I dunno, it was your idea. What songs do you know?"

"I know a few, but what songs do you know?" Blood Moon thought about it.

"I know one song and one song only."

"What is it?"

"The assassin's song" he answered, not really wanting to go through with this.

"Hey I know that one. My mom and Rarity sing it to me when I can't get to sleep, I always liked it but I always thought it was a little dark." The stallion shrugged.

"Just goes to show, not everything dark is necessarily bad."

"I guess so" she agreed.

"Can you remember the first line?"

"I think so." She gave a high pitched clear of her throat as Blood Moon rolled his neck to relax himself. They both took a breath before they started.

_"On those dark, weary days and those cold, windy nights pray the assassin will watch over your plight." _The two began the song in unison; Blood Moon's voice was lower and much deeper than Sweetie-Belle's and seemed less out of place than the fillie's but the assassin had to admit: she was a damn good singer.

_"With blood on his hooves and death in his heart the assassin will watch over, from the end till the start _

_With blood on his blade, and shrouded in night the assassin will be there, with his ever silent might. From dawn until dusk and from winter till fall year after year he will always stand tall." _As they continued, the stallion couldn't help but notice the stark contrast between the two; it was one of those classic 'light and dark, good and evil' sorts of scenes.

_"With blood on his blade, and shrouded in night the assassin will be there, with his ever silent might. From dawn until dusk and from winter till fall year after year he will always stand tall." _Blood Moon began to fade his voice away, letting his rumbling voice leave the tune, but didn't stop in fear of Sweetie-Belle catching him.

"_The assassin will watch over all good colts and mares always listening to their ever hopeful prayers. He will always watch over the weak and the poor should you ever cross him he'll give you what for." _Blood Moon stopped his singing and listened to her; Starswirl's beard, she was good, she seemed to have picked up on the tune and tempo of the song quickly and kept to it masterfully. Whoever had complemented her had been right to do so; she was most definitely born for this.

_"With blood on his blade, and shrouded in night the assassin will be there, with his ever silent might. From dawn until dusk and from winter till fall year after year he will always stand tall." _

_"The assassin will be there, so silent and still watching and waiting, for the moment until. Those who have wronged you will fall to his blade and never will he rest till the debt has been paid" _

_"With blood on his blade, and shrouded in night the assassin will be there, with his ever silent might. From dawn until dusk and from winter till fall year after year he will always stand tall." _She carried the last note for a second before she let the song end, her eyes closed and a small smile on her face, before she realised she had sung the latter half of the song by herself.

"You stopped singing" she exclaimed.

"And I'm glad I did" he responded. Sweetie-Belle looked like she was about to cry.

"Was I really that bad" she asked. That one hit the stallion in the gut; she, apparently, had some confidence problems when it came to her singing.

"Sweetie-Belle, promise me something."

"You don't want me to sing again, do you" she said, even closer to tears. The assassin shook his head.

"Quite the opposite, I want you to never, ever, doubt yourself like that again and don't ever stop singing. I've been alive a fairly long time and I've never met somepony, of your age no less, with such raw talent in music." The filly gave him a wide eyed look of pure disbelief.

"Y-you really think so."

"I know so" he answered. She sat in silence for a few seconds before she exploded into movement, leaping into the air and dashing for the assassin and wrapping him in a tight hug.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou" she squealed into his ear at point-blank range. She jumped off of him and sped to the door "I gotta tell Apple Bloom and Scootaloo about this." She dashed out of the boutique in a similar fashion as her sister had when she'd got her 'idea'.

"Oh my" a disembodied voice said. The assassin looked around himself for a second until he spotted Rarity at the bottom of the stairs, a hoof to her chin and tears welling up behind her eyes.

"Something the matter?" Rarity took a second to respond to his voice, when she did she trotted over to the assassin with her eyes still locked on the door her little sister had left from.

"It's just, I've never heard her sing properly before" she took a second to gather herself "it was beautiful" she squeaked, clearly getting emotional. "And to think, she may have even found her talent." Blood Moon nodded. They sat in silence for a while before Rarity seemed to remember something. "Oh, and I've finished your new garment" she announced.

"Already" he asked, actually shocked. Rarity took it in her ladylike stride.

"Well, they don't call me one of the best designers in Equestria for nothing" she said, with a glamorous throw of her mane. Her horn glowed and a piece of black material floated into the room and onto Blood Moon. It was a trench coat; the colour was of the deepest black, in fact it had the same effect as his mane and tail; it looked to be made from leather, but he knew it wasn't, though it held all its properties of strength, flexibility and lightness; the individual pieces were stitched together perfectly, all the stitching was invisible but she'd put crosses over each seam, likely to give it character; the belt that tied it together had sublet, silver designs over it, they flowed smoothly and he could see his cutie mark worked subtly into the designs; thin belts and buckles were over the cuffs and the hem; and the lapel and collar were slightly wider than a normal coat, Blood Moon could only guess they were there to better cover his face when popped up.

"Rarity I'm…actually impressed" he said, moving around in it, getting a feel for it; it fit perfectly and felt like he had been wearing it for years.

"I got the idea for something more flowing and less restrictive but when it came to an actual shape and detailed design I was at a loss for something that just spoke 'Blood Moon'. But then I remembered our conversation about information brokers and noir and inspiration STRUCK" she sang.

"Well it's definitely…me."

"Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to keep your other things here so I can at least do some repairs or at the very least wash them." Blood Moon scratched the back of his neck and laughed sheepishly.

"Heh, no arguments here, it'll be nice not to have to go around in stuff that's got more sweat in it than there is wetness between your hind-legs when I rubbed your horn." Rarity gave a ladylike giggle before realising what he'd just said so casually. She gave him a panicked, wide eyed look before she looked back between her rear legs. She bit her lower lip and backed away slowly.

"I…um…I-I think Twilight said she wanted to see you earlier, darling" she said, backing towards the stairs and eventually to her bed room "best not to keep her waiting, hmm." She gave a polite and hasty 'goodbye' before dashing up stairs and slamming her door behind her, the distinct sound of a door lock being engaged following. The assassin watched the whole scene with an amused smile on his face.

"I'll see you later then Rarity" he said to the empty room and he turned to leave. As he turned and left, his coat flowing majestically, and satisfyingly, around him as he went, he picked up his belt and wrapped it around him.

Outside he gazed around himself, watching the world go about it's business; he trotted through Ponyville's marketplace, mares, stallions and foals around him, all happy and content. He couldn't let the Goldhooves take this place for themselves; he felt 'sucking the heart out' was either drastic or an exaggeration, but he found himself unwilling to risk it. He found the Golden oaks library quickly, memories of the night the Changeling's attack coming back to him. He still wondered why that had happened. He knocked his hoof against the door three times and waited for Twilight, though he didn't get what he was expecting.

"Yeah?" The voice was male, young and boyish. The assassin blinked; the door seemed to have opened itself and spoke to him. "Hey, down here!" Blood Moon turned his gaze down and saw…something.

"And you are?" The purple and green lizard shuddered.

"Wow, your voice is creepy." The stallion snorted.

"Nice, I can only presume that you're Spike, right?" He nodded feverishly.

"Yep, that's me. I'm Twilight's number one assistant."

"You're a…baby dragon, right?"

"Yeah." The assassin frowned.

"Hmm, a dragon acting as an assistant to a mare." The drake scowled.

"Yeah, I am, you got a problem" he asked with his arms crossed.

"Not really, dragons are known to be prideful, greedy and simply evil creatures by nature, it's refreshing to see one drop his nature for those he cares about." That seemed to catch him off guard.

"Oh, uhhh thanks, I guess. I take it you're here to see Twilight?" The assassin nodded. "Come in, she's around somewhere." Blood Moon did as asked, stepping into the library. He looked around himself and saw, of all ponies, Rainbowdash. He trotted up to her.

"Hey." The mare looked up and nodded to him.

"Oh, hey, it's you. How you been?"

"Fine, hanging with Sand Stalker." At this she scowled.

"Don't talk to me about him." The stallion sat next to her.

"Give him a break will you? He's feeling about as rough as you are right now, I mean come on, he had a pretty good reason for not wanting to be here."

"Yeah…wait how do you know?"

"I saw yours and Sand Stalker's whole confrontation."

"Oh…then you agree right?"

"I'm not taking sides, you both have reasons I can relate to."

"It could have been better for us both though" she said softly, her grief clear in her tone.

"Well, give him a chance, and maybe things can be better now." Rainbow shrugged.

"Maybe" she murmured. Blood Moon looked over her shoulder and frowned.

"What are you reading" he asked, in part effort to change the subject and part curiosity. She seemed to perk up at this.

"It's a book about famous ponies and their known blood lines." The assassin raised an eyebrow. "I take it that you noticed my mane?" The stallion nodded, it was kind of unavoidable. "Well I found out it was a blood line thing; the first born of somepony with a rainbow mane is bound to have one themselves, they're also guaranteed to be a Pegasus" she told him, her tone telling him she had quoted what she'd just said.

"Ok" he said at length.

"Do you know the story about 'Hearth's Warming Eve'?" Blood Moon shrugged.

"Who doesn't?"

"Well, I was given the part of Commander Hurricane in the play a little while back, because of our similar mane style. So I got to thinking 'if the whole rainbow mane thing is a family thing, maybe I'm related to her'."

"Ah, yes. The great Commander Hurricane."

"Let me guess; you knew her" the mare asked with a face that said she couldn't care less. The assassin chuckled.

"Oh I more than knew her" he said with a grin on his face.

"What do you mean?" The assassin looked over at her in a way that said everything. The mare's jaw hit the floor. "You're kidding me?" he shook his head. She responded by laughing and punching him in the fore-leg. "You dog" she laughed "just think, I'm sat here with somepony who's slept with Commander Hurricane" she said, mock longingly. She paused in her giggles and looked around the room before leaning in to him. "What was she like?" He had to laugh at that one, if only because it sounded so out of place coming from her. He decided to humour her.

"At first she was commanding, but as time went on she became more and more submissive. It was the pillow talk that took me by surprise though, she really liked to cuddle." Rainbow looked at him in disbelief.

"You can remember that?" He shrugged.

"She was more memorable than most, that, and it was my first time on a cloud bed." The mare looked down at her book with a 'huh' and flicked through a few more pages.

"Hey I found it" she declared, pointing at a page holding Commander Hurricane's picture and a few pages listing descendants. "Aw buck" she cursed.

"What?"

"It doesn't say who she had her first child with."

"So?"

"I was just curious, y'know." She looked over the list of descendants some more. "Hey, I know that name" she said pointing at one in specific 'Rainbow Blizzard'. She pulled out another book and flipped it open; she then kept looking between the two before pumping a hoof into the air. "Alright, so I am related to her" she cried before putting a hoof to her chin in though. "But it would be nice to know who that stallion was though."

"Guess we'll never find out" the assassin declared. And In freaky unison, the two sighed completely unaware they had identical jaw bones. As they sat there, Twilight trotted down from her room and saw the stallion sitting with Rainbowdash.

"Oh, hey Rainbow, you find that book?"

"Yeah, turns out I am related to Hurricane. How awesome is that" she squealed.

"Yeah, congratulation."

'_Congratulations? For what, it was the guy who knocked up Hurricane who deserves some kind of praise.'_

The assassin shook the thoughts from his head when he heard his name called.

"Blood Moon, you in there" Twilight called.

"Hm, yeah, what?"

"I was just asking you why you were here." The assassin frowned.

"Rarity said you wanted me." It was Twilight's turn to frown.

"What, how did she know?"

"Know what?"

"That I've been having trouble with a few spells, I wanted the help of another unicorn, but only me and Spike know about that." The assassin shrugged.

"Well, I guess it was just a lucky guess" he said dismissively. "So, trouble with spells?"

"Yeah, if you've got the time I'd appreciate some help." Blood Moon shrugged.

"Well, I've had enough crap today, I could use a break from it. Sure, I'll give you a hoof." She brightened up at that.

"Great, follow me outside and we'll get started." The stallion shrugged to himself and complied, trotting for the door.

"I'll see you later Dash" he called over his shoulder. Twilight looked over at the stallion.

"I noticed the new coat" she said, looking over the stallion's new attire. Blood Moon looked down himself and shrugged.

"I went over to Rarity's earlier, she decided I needed new clothing. Next thing I know I'm naked and she'd sizing me up….I'd rephrase that only it's too amusing." Twilight giggled slightly.

"Well, it looks very nice on you" she told him.

"I look good in everything" he told her with mock arrogance in his tone. Twilight lead him towards a ring drawn in the dirt, it was about three meters wide and seemed freshly made. "What's all this" he asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a training ring I made" she said proudly.

"Why would you need a training ring?"

"For the magic I've been practicing!"

"Circle in the dirt magic?" It was at that point she performed an atomic face-hoof.

"No silly, combat magic." The assassin snorted.

"Combat magic?"

"Yeah, what you don't think I'm capable?"

"Honestly? No." She scowled at him.

"Jerk" she muttered. Blood Moon couldn't help but laugh at that one.

"Alright then, why don't you show me what you can do?" Twilight smiled mischievously. They stood in the ring, adjacent to each other, Twilight with her back arched in an offensive manner and Blood Moon stood like he was waiting in a line in the post-office. Twilight charged her horn and fired, the assassin simply stepping out of the way and firing his own, hitting her square in the chest. The mare squealed and tumbled out of the ring, landing with her face in the dirt and flank in the air. "Hmm, not bad" he murmured.

"JERK" she shouted from her position. She looked up to see the dark stallion crackling like a mad stallion. She pouted and rested her head on the floor as he trotted over to her, a grin still on his face. "Where'd I go wrong?" He pursed his lips.

"Well, where to start? Ok, I got it: you weren't moving, you took too long to charge your horn and you used a spell WAY too advanced for the situation. Twilight, you know how to use the magic, but you don't know a thing about actually fighting." Twilight frowned.

"How does that work?" He sighed and helped her up, before motioned for her to stand in the ring again.

"Lesson one: movement. Staying hot on your hooves is key to any magical dual, staying still is a one way ticket to the morgue, take what you just did for example; staying still and locking your stance when you're about to cast your spell? Wrong way to win a fight, right way to die or get injured."

"Alright I get it" the mare interrupted "what should I do?"

"It's simple really; you just gotta work on your hoofwork. Now, do as I do." He began to move around the ring, his hooves skilfully dancing around one another to keep him upright and moving quickly, fuelled by millennia of experience. Twilight, however, seemed to have forgotten how to move on her hooves properly when going sideways. "Alright Twilight, keep moving and hit me quick, don't give me time to move." She nodded and charged her horn for a second before stopping and firing. Blood Moon, however, didn't stop and the spell flew past him. He growled to himself as he ran his hoof down his face. "Wrong again, A) you stopped, again B) your hoofwork was, frankly, awful C) you fired where I was, not where I was going. You really don't know what you're doing do you?"

"Hey, lay off will you. This is my first time doing anything like this."

"That's what she said" he muttered. "Alright, since you know how to cast spells, you just don't know how to use them properly, so we'll just focus on your movement for now."

"Makes sense" she said hesitantly. She prepared to start moving when the assassin stopped her.

"No, come closer so you can copy my movements" he instructed. Twilight complied and went further into the ring where Blood Moon stood. The two began to move around each other; they began slowly, Twilight watching the stallion's steps intently as he moved, she tried to match his steps but was having trouble. It seemed she had little to no grace. "Discord's antlers you're bad at this" he commented with a bemused grin on his face.

"Jerk, I already said I've never really done this before."

"I object, you've never done this before at all Twilight" he argued.

"Shut up, it's not like I'm being trained by masters of my time."

"No you're not, you're being trained by the result of that training, so don't insult me." Blood Moon was met with narrowed eyes.

"Will you stop putting me down! I already said I'm not very good at this."

"Once more, I object, you're awful at this." Twilight snorted, this steam pushed from her nose visible through her anger.

"Alright then" she whispered to herself. She sparked her horn to life, firing a blast of magic at the stallion who side stepped and retorted with his own. Twilight blocked his attack with a barrier her brother had taught her and shot six small beams from her horn in quick succession at the stallion. He dodge-rolled out of the way of the first two, then hit the rest out of the air with a line of his darkly coloured magic, slamming them down like a lion tamer with a whip. He released the spell, and fired up another and the clouds above Twilight suddenly became darker and lightning flashed from them. She narrowly managed to dodge the attack. When she looked back, the assassin wasn't there. She looked around but couldn't see him, confused she charged her horn in case he-

"Surprise" he bellowed as he erupted from the ground, in a hail of dirt and rock. She screamed and fell back, resorting to teleporting away from him. She turned to face him and saw him turn to her just as fast and fire a spell her way, which she once again blocked but he didn't stop with the onslaught, he continued firing numerous spells into her shield before he paused for a second and fired at the ground in front of her, casting dust in her face. The mare growled and waved a hoof in her face, coughing the dirt from her lungs. She pushed the cloud away with a gust of magically conjured wind. What she saw next worried her; Blood Moon's shadow was stretched over to the shade cast by her own library and two of his serpents were swaying at attention next to their master. "Boys" they stopped swaying slightly and turned their…mouths to Blood Moon. "Seek 'em." The two lunged for her and snapped their jaws in her direction, eager for a bite of her. The mare they were hungry for screamed, turned and tried to escape but the two were already on her, she spun again and attempted to fight back, her weak and panicked spells just bouncing off their darkly scaled hides. When they got within a meter she panicked and locked up, her eyes squeezed shut and put her fore-hooves over her head. Nothing came, except the sound of hooves on ground. "Now do you see why movement is so important?" The mare opened her eyes to see the dark stallion stood over her. Her leaned down and put a hoof under her fore-leg. "Come on, up you get" he tells her as he lifts her to her hooves. As he lifts her she loses her balance, apparently weary from their exercises, and falls into him. With him holding her up, the assassin gives a sigh. "Well, isn't this the most cliché of romantic positions." Twilight blinked and got up off of him, blushing slightly. "Ok, ah'm ah giving it to ya straight: you have no grace, no syncretisation with other ponies and fighting is of the roster for you until we can do something about it." Twilight glared at him.

"Where does hoofwork come into that fight" she demanded.

"For one, that wasn't a fight, it was hardly a spar. For two, hoofwork was quintessential, think about it; the only time you moved was when you teleported, impressive by the way, and when you tried to get away from my serpents." Twilight gave a hearty sight.

"Alright" she conceded "I get it, hoofwork" she repeated, probably putting the information away for future reference. "What do you suggest to help me with it?" Blood Moon put a hoof to his chin and thought about it for a second, his expression brightening when he came to a conclusion.

"I got an idea, something to improve your grace, syncretisation and movement fluidity." Twilight perked up and looked right at him.

"What" she asked eagerly.

* * *

"Dancing" she repeated, under the distinct impression the stallion was messing with her. It seemed, however, this was not so. Blood Moon hadn't told her his intentions at first, instead he had took her by the hoof and practically dragged her to the town hall, where they were now stood, he'd whipped off his coat and belt and was now stood at a phonograph putting a record in place and winding it up. "Are you serious?" He glanced over to her and smirked.

"Why wouldn't I be? The art of the dance involves grace, syncretisation with your partner, the ability to move fluidly and be able to change your movements rapidly without showing effort. And the added bonus is that I get to teach you how to dance properly." Twilight trotted over to the middle of the hall.

"And how do you know how to dance? You don't look like the type." The assassin smirked.

"Nor do I look like a proper gentlecolt capable of proper etiquette; who has a deep understanding of pony psychology; knows how to, and is more than willing to, look after and be there for anypony; and is more capable in the bedroom than the author of the ponysutra. In fact on the surface I look like nothing but a cut throat, however, you and I know I am much more than that."

"Maybe, but you still don't look like a good dancer" Twilight retorted. Blood Moon had gotten the phonograph going and some classical, unnameable waltz music began emitting from the speaker.

"And you don't look like you have a beautiful plot, but do I complain?" Twilight blinked a few times before a deep red blush grew on her face. "Now, do you know how to properly dance?" The lavender mare was still stunned by his casually made complement, and just stood with her mouth hung slightly agape and that blush still clinging to her face not saying anything. "I'll take that as a no then" he said with a sigh "here, lean your…Twilight are you listening?" She blinked herself awake form her stupor.

"Hmm, what? Oh yeah, of course I am."

"Then what did I just say?"

"Don't drink full fat milk" she tried.

"No, but you're right, don't, it's horrible for the girth." The mare blinked.

"Oh, ok."

"Either way, wake up I'm trying to teach you how to dance, ergo how to fight." Twilight nodded.

"Right, right I'm sorry it's just…nopony's ever complemented my flank before" she explained, a fresh blush on her cheek. The stallion frowned.

"Really?" He leaned and straightened so he could see her rear end, checking her out without shame. "Well, they don't know what they're missing then" he said with a shrug. Twilight couldn't help but gasp a little.

"I thought you said you are a pony of proper etiquette, how can you say that and so blatantly check me out like that."

"Correction, I said pony 'capable' of proper etiquette, I can and will turn it on and off at will, furthermore, why are you so bothered about it? You do know that somepony looking at you appreciatively, generally means they find you attractive."

"Yeah well that doesn't…wait what?"

"What?"

"You-you just said you find me attractive." The assassin frowned, genuinely confused.

"Yeah, of course I do, I mean look at you: perfect flank, beautiful slim body, great mane and tail, pretty eyes. And you're not just a pretty face; you have the personality and smarts to back it up." Twilight's face was now more red than magenta; she wasn't used to being showered with so many complements, What really caught her off guard was the way he sounded so sincere, yet so laidback when he said it. There had been the odd stallion in Canterlot but back then she had been too wrapped up in her studies to care about them, even in Ponyville she had a few possible coltfriends but she never really had much interest in relationships, what with her friends keeping her company so she was never lonely and the whole elements of harmony thing had distracted her further. She noticed that she hadn't said anything for the last few minutes.

"How-how can you be so casual when you say that" she asked, still caught off guard by his words. The assassin shrugged.

"It's normally when you're lying you act out of sorts, when I speak the truth I act normally" he replied. "Are you done asking questions or shall we begin?" Twilight swallowed before she nodded. "Good" he said brightly "now, lean your neck into mine" she did so, still standing a little ridged "relax a little will you? I won't bite, well y'know, unless that other personality comes out and I tear the town apart in an undead rage." Twilight leaped back.

"What!?" Blood Moon raised a hoof defensively.

"Joke, joke" he assured. Twilight swallowed, still nervus, but moved back into him and leaned her neck against his, trying to loosen up. "Good, now, lean your weight into mine." She did so and the stallion felt little pressure against his neck muscles. "I said lean your weight, don't worry I can take it. I mean umm, no offence" he tired. Twilight shrugged in a silent laugh.

"Don't worry about it, but I am leaning into you." The assassin raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Yeah" she confirmed.

"Wow, you're light."

"Or maybe you're just strong?" Blood Moon grunted a laugh.

"How about a mixture of both?"

"Fair enough" she replied.

"Alright, we'll do this slowly" he said "move with me" he instructed. She did and they began moving, turning around each other in time to the music. "Move your hooves with mine" he whispered. Twilight picked up quickly.

"This isn't so bad" the mare murmured. The stallion grinned.

"That's good, if you said it was I may have to slap you. When I had to do this I was partnered with our trainer, he could dance, sure, but he was as big as a shed and a _nightmare _to drag around when I had to lead." Twilight giggled.

"So, how do I compare?" Blood Moon pulled the sides of his mouth down in thought.

"Well you're not as graceful as him but-lean down with me" he said as he dipped her. She went down gently, a slight smile on his face as she did, enjoying herself. "But the company, is far superior" he finished as he raised her

"Thank you…wait 'our' trainer?"

"Yeah, it wasn't just me at that facility; it was me, another stallion called Heartless and a mare called Rose Blood. None of us liked each other, they seemed to like me even less when I became immortal" he said with a smirk in his voice "I suppose it didn't help I was the only one there with a personality; I constantly made fun of Heartless and Rose Blood never liked my attempts to woo her…or maybe it was because I was the only stallion in Equestria who could make her blush" he told her, another smirk on his face.

"So, what happened to them?" The assassin sighed slightly.

"It was the final test for us all; they put us in a room and told us only one was coming out alive. I'll let you figure out the rest for yourself." Twilight shuddered. "Sorry, I keep forgetting you're not as…versed as I am in my art."

"You call it art, I call it murder."

"You call her mentor, I call her the mare who made my life a misery." Twilight hummed.

"About that, why did you leave Celestia?" The assassin shrugged.

"You already know; aristocrats and nobles. I don't attend their soirées, I kill them and for them."

"Is that really, your only reason? I mean, Celestia and Luna were like your own daughters, how could you just abandon them?" The stallion narrowed his eyes, though the effect was lost on Twilight considering she couldn't see his face.

"I. Didn't. ABANDON. Them." Twilight was scared but didn't back down.

"So what did you do then?"

"They were grown up; they had a country to run. They didn't need me, nor did I want to get involved in it. Twilight Sparkle, do you know the nature of nobles." The mare shook her head. "Think the savageness of a manticor, the cunning of a python, the cowardice of a lone rat and the murderous nature of a dragon, all times by ten. That's the kind of noble Celestia deals with every day. I hardly think I have the right temperament for that, I'm pretty sure every noble to visit her would end up with a broken snout or neck within five minutes of being in my presences." Twilight giggled again, she'd met a few of the nobles in Canterlot and she hadn't taken much of a shine to them. "It wasn't me who put the whole of Equestria's resources on her tail. She turned on me." The record skipped and suddenly faster, a slightly more husky Latin beat emitted for the phonograph. Blood Moon glanced over at it and shrugged, he straightened up. "Alright Twilight, now-"

"I know what to do" she told him with a triumphant smile on her face "I read all about this particular dance." The stallion grinned.

"I presume you know the rules then?"

"Oh, I know them" she told him, putting a single dangerous inch between their smiling muzzles. "No contact."

"Always moving." The mare moved, surprisingly elegantly, past him. Their necks and backs were elegantly straight and poised.

"Every movement must be-" The assassin put his hoof around the back of her neck, swinging her around and supporting her with one leg.

"Passionate" he finished. He lifted her again and she moved around him again.

"Elegant" she continued, her face brushing barely a centimetre past his.

"The closer the partners-"

"The more skilled the dancers are" she finished.

"As asides from dips and lifts-"

"The only contact allowed is the finale" she, once again, finished.

"I take the book said what that finale is." Twilight's smile turned…the assassin took a double take…sultry?

"Of course, it is supposed to resemble the heat and passion of the dance" she answered "although, if contact is made throughout the dance, the stallion dose not get his 'grand finale' dose he?" Blood Moon's own grin widened.

"Then I'll be sure not to touch you, mi' lady." They turned around each other, still barely a centimetre between them; Twilight couldn't help but get lost in his piercing gaze.

"Y'know, I've never been this close to a stallion before" she said, her voice huskier than usual. The assassin grinned; she was getting into it.

"Well, I'll be sure to make your first experience" he leaned in further, making sure not to touch her, and whispered into her ear "memorable." When he leaned back, a grin still on his face, he saw the new blush on Twilight's face; it was deeper and redder than usual and spread further over her face.

"Blood Moon…why do you do that?"

"What?"

"Make me blush so much?" The stallion smirked and shrugged.

"Let's be honest here, I'm not the best looking stallion, am I? I make up for it in personality, flawless charm and my ability" he leaned straight into her face, a millimetre between the tips of their noses "to make a mare blush." Twilight could feel her legs getting shaky.

"Oh my" she said breathlessly. The stallion backed up again as he moved around her; she kept her gaze on him but didn't move herself before she blinked and shook her head, pulling herself out of her stupor. She moved around the stallion as he did, matching his movements perfectly. She put the distance between them back to a single millimetre. The last few notes of the song sounded.

"It's almost at the end Twilight" Blood Moon told her, knowing what partners staying close in this dance means.

"I know" she told him. The final note of the tune they danced to played and Twilight made her move, the move that was considered appropriate between two close standing partners in that dance. She closed the miniature distance between the two and pushed her lips to his. She couldn't ignore the small spark in her chest when she didn't feel him pull back, in fact he seemed more than happy to oblige and return her kiss. She felt him turn his head and push deeper into the kiss; she leaned back and sat on her haunches letting him lead the embrace. She didn't notice when she opened her mouth and his tongue entered. It felt weird at first, alien, but she grew to enjoy the sensation and returned the gesture. It was her first kiss but she could tell Blood moon had far more experience than her, the way his tongue brushed so gently past her own was proof enough of that. Her tongue explored his mouth, enjoying every moment of it. It was possible his outward appearance was influencing her opinion, but she half expected his mouth to be scared as well. She couldn't help but notice he was being very gentle with her; he didn't push her at all and took his time with her, making sure she was comfortable. His tongue hit a sensitive spot in her mouth and she couldn't help but moan slightly into his maw, sending erotic vibration through the both of them. After a while the two parted, Twilight still a little light headed and Blood Moon thanking his old instructor for teaching him grace and syncretisation like that. Twilight was then hit with the backlash.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so-so, I'm sorry I-I just got caught up in the whole dance and the way you were speaking to me and-and." Blood Moon raised a confused eyebrow.

"What are you so sorry for?"

"I-I mean I kissed you and-"

"It's not like I pulled back."

"I know but-"

"Twilight, quit beating yourself up will you? It was sort of inevitable anyway, and if I'm honest, it wasn't bad."

"I know but…what?"

"The kiss, it was good, well preformed and initiated, appropriately sexy. Not bad for a beginner, hay, it was pretty good for a veteran." Twilight looked down and blushed again, dragging her hoof along the floor.

"Thanks" she whispered a small smile on her face "but, would it be too much to ask to keep this between the two of us? No offence but I don't think anypony would really…approve of me kissing a known killer." Blood Mood raised a hoof to stop her.

"I understand Twilight, being an element of harmony I can understand you need to… keep up appearances."

"Thank you." She tried to look up at him again, but one look at his grinning face and she felt the blush coming back.

"I don't know if it's really necessary anymore, but I think your grace and movement ability has improved significantly." Twilight giggled again.

"Thank you" she repeated "but I think we should get back to the library." Blood Moon nodded, silently agreeing with her. He followed her to the door and pulled his belt and coat over to him with his magic. Belt and coat reequipped, he turned his attention back to…

"Twilight, you're swaying your flank more aren't you?" She hung her head as she answered.

"Sorry, it just…seemed appropriate" she said sheepishly, no doubt blushing again, reverting back to her normal trotting fashion.

"I didn't say stop" he said as he increased his pace to bring himself next to her. Twilight giggled again and bumped him softly with her rear end. The assassin smirked and felt a heat run to his loins.

"Uhh, Blood Moon?" Said assassin hummed to show he was listening. The pair left the town hall as Ponyville was wrapping up for the day. "What…are we now?" before he could answer Twilight gasped. "Sweet Celestia, Ditzy." He turned his head to her slowly.

"Twilight, I broke up with her a few days ago." Twilight blinked disbelieving.

"Oh, so you just bounce right onto me?" The assassin laughed.

"Bounce onto you?" He laughed at her choice of words. "No, I flirt a lot, just ask Rarity, I just happen to like you more and I also just happened to get into, that particular dance with you." Twilight scowled.

"What kind of reasoning is that? 'You like me more', do you think that makes it ok to just go from one mare to another? What kind of 'gentlecolt' are you?" The assassin narrowed his eyes.

"Twilight Sparkle, do not test my loyalty. Ditzy doo made the same mistake and we parted on bad terms. I never said I didn't care for her, but she made it clear she didn't trust me THAT is why I left her. If we parted on any other terms I would likely have never even started that dance with you, never mind finish it so the way we did. But we didn't part on different terms, so now I couldn't care less about her." Twilight looked down.

"That's mean."

"It's cold is what it is, but that's who I am" he replied. Twilight sighed.

"Y'know, you didn't answer my question" she pointed out. The stallion sighed.

"I…I won't lie. Ditzy did do one thing for me, she taught me not to rush a relationship."

"And then you let me kiss you."

"Hey, I'm not complaining, you're an element of harmony. I may be an immortal assassin but you are literally a part of Equestria, an important part at that, I may be gifted in my own way but I can safely say I'll never have that. Forgive me for being overly sappy but it's an honour to even be able to call you friend, never mind dating you." Twilight was half happy and half curious.

"So you're saying…you DO want to date me?" Blood Moon looked over to her.

"Yes, just… not yet" he answered. Twilight thought about it.

"Well I guess…I guess, thank you for at least putting effort into this" she said to him with a slight smile on her face. Blood Moon smiled back.

"You're welcome to it, hay, you deserve at least a stallion who'll look after you and put effort into a relationship, it may be me, it may not but it's what you deserve." After they trotted for a while, Twilight's smile broadened.

"It occurs to me that I've gone from target to romantic interest" she said with a giggle. The assassin shrugged.

"You'd be surprised actually, more than once over history important political figures have made a husband or wife of an assassin. I'm not innocent of that crime myself actually; asides yourself, I've met a mare or three I wouldn't kill, and over time they grew on me. What can I say; I'm just a big ol' softie. Personally, I'd say it's a little cliché but all's fair in love and war as far as I'm concerned." Twilight shrugged.

"I'm not arguing" she agreed. They arrived at the library soon after, Twilight leading the way. They stepped inside to find it deserted, not even Spike was around. The mare turned to the stallion. "So, do you want to stay for a while?" Blood Moon looked outside to the sky.

"I would, I really would, but it looks like the Pegasi are cooking up a storm, nasty one at that." Twilight nodded, but wasn't happy about it.

"I'll see you then" she said, in way of farewell. He nodded without saying anything, and didn't resist as she leaned in and pecked him on the check. He gave a kind, lopsided smile as she backed away and he turned for the door. It was when he was about to step over the fresh hold when the thunder boomed overhead and rain fell from the sky like Neighagra had just spawned above them.

"Ah, buck" he cursed. His assassin sense tingled, warning him of a smug presence nearby. He turned to see Twilight stood behind him. "So, yeah I'd love to stay for a while" he told her.

"Alright" she replied "but no funny business" she joked. He grunted a laugh.

"Thanks, really, for understanding." Twilight just smiled at him again. The two settled into the night peacefully; Twilight going over a history book and Blood Moon pointing out all the inaccuracies. She couldn't help but notice she had come to like the way he spoke, the way he spoke in such a scary way but was so calm and kind, almost reassuring. She also noticed the way she had budged closer to him as the night went on. At midnight (which had crept up on them) they decided to hit the hay. As the assassin plopped into his bed, thinking about how the day had gone; from Mayor Mare and Feather Heart asking for his assistance about political matters; singing with Sweetie-Belle and potentially helping her find her special talent; helping Twilight with her fighting and, subsequently, her dancing; before going on to make out her. All and all, it had been a fairly eventful day, and it hit him from the left wing when he noticed just how much he'd done in a single day and where he'd ended up at the end of it. He lay with his eyes open, staring out of the open window at the night sky wondering how life would treat him in the days to come before, they fell to Twilight. He wondered what she was thinking about.

In her room, Twilight lay on her bed, a small smile on her face. She'd met Blood Moon under the worst of circumstances; her first experience with assassin had been watching him kill five rapists; then he'd helped her fight off the Changelings and made peace with her friends; working with Applejack, taking care of Pinkie Pie when she needed it most and helping her with her fighting skills (or perhaps thinking about it as him helping her with her dancing skills would be a better way to think about it). As she lay atop her sheets, Spike snoring next to her in his basket, she felt the need to share her experiences with her oldest and best friend.

Princess Celestia.

She trotted over to a desk with a quill and parchment resting on it and stool sat neatly behind it. She sat at her desk and took the quill in her magical grip.

_Dear Princess Celestia_

_A few days ago, I met a stallion under some very unorthodox circumstances; he didn't strike me as a good stallion at first and I even thought he was here under disagreeable circumstances. But after a while he started to show his true nature; caring, youthful, loyal and friendly. He's grown on both me and all my friends, even Ponyville as a whole. I know this sounds like 'don't judge a book by its cover' but I think this stallion has taught me more than that. I think what Blood Moon has taught me, is that friendship can come from the most unexpected of places._

_Your ever faithful student_

_Twilight Sparkle._

The mare straightened up from her desk, happy with her letter. Then she heard Spike snore.

"Pony feathers" she muttered. She still hadn't mastered the spell to send letters herself, so she still relied on Spike to do it for her. She got off the stool and trotted over to him, nudging him awake. "Spike" she cooed. The young dragon stirred and moaned before his eyes opened slowly.

"What time is it" he asked with a yawn. Twilight smiled sheepishly.

"Twelve" she told him. The drake narrowed his eyes.

"Am or pm" he asked.

"Am" she replied with the worst poker face you've ever seen. The dragon groaned and got up stiffly.

"Alright, what is it" he asked drowsily.

"I need you to send this to Princess Celestia" she explained to him. Spike sighed and took the rolled up letter in his claw. He blew hard through his nose in annoyance before he blew his signature green flame onto the parchment and watched the green ashes fly out of the window.

"Now can we please get some sleep" Spike begged of his big sister/mother.

"Sure Spike" she yawned "I think I need some sleep after everything today."

"What's with the look in your eye?"

"Huh?"

"You were looking at the wall like you wanted to go out on a date with it" his expression turned sly as he put two and two together "somepony's found their special somepony" he teased. Twilight's checks turned pink under the accusation.

"S-Spike, knock it off" she hissed. Spike complied after a few more sniggers before her jumped back into his basket, dreaming of gems and Rarity. For Twilight, she dreamed of a certain hooded stallion but, unlike the last time, the darkness didn't scare her.

* * *

Celestia put the letter down. She'd been just about to get into bed when a green flow of ash flew into her room through her open window. She couldn't help but smile at the prospect of hearing from her student. But when she'd read the letter, she was anything but happy at what she had to say.

_Blood Moon._

The name echoed around her brain like a bell tolling in her skull. Blood Moon, who so long ago had abandoned her, like a father abandoning a child. Her eyes narrowed at the memory of her waking up and him not being there for her, Philomena was there in his place. She loved that bird but it was not enough for the way he betrayed her and Luna. She stood and summoned her guard captain, Shining Armour, using a spell only he and her knew for just such occasions. A bright flash later and the white furred and multi blued mane and tailed stallion was in her room. This would normally be seen as uncouth but considering the circumstances, neither cared.

"What is it Princess Celestia" the stallion asked, standing to attention. He could tell by the grave and enraged look on his boss's face this wasn't going to be good.

"I apologise for pulling you away from the Crystal Empire, but you must have the guards in Ponyville on the lookout. We have an assassin to take care of." Shining Armour frowned, but beyond that didn't lose face.

"An assassin?" Celestia nodded once.

"Yes Shining Armour, it seems my old foalsitter has resurfaced."

**A/N: New chapter, alright...wait, how long was it since...holy ass, THAT long. I was thinking about not putting an author's note this chapter but then I noticed that this was the longest chapter, by far. So yay. By the way, I just wanna do a little shout out here, to Overlords, Tales of Equestria, courtesy of Sonic the Echidna. It ain't bad, at all. Anyway, fav, follow, leave a comment all the usual stuff. Until next time.**

**Productive faffer out. **


	15. Innocence and corruption

Chapter fifteen: Innocence and corruption

"_Well, you've done it again."_

'_What?'_

"_Don't give me what, you know what you did you son of a whorse."_

'_Hey shut up! What in Tartarus did I do?'_

"_You say you've learned not to rush relationships, you and I both know you have, but what do you go and do?"_

'_I didn't do anything-'_

"_Don't give me that. We both saw her moving in and you did nothing to stop her, buck it, just starting that dance says you were at least hoping it would happen."_

'_Of course I was hoping, we both know how good she looks-'_

"_Stop making excuses; I'm gonna say this once so listen good: YOU'VE. ONLY. JUST. MET. HER. I'd ask you what you were thinking but, unfortunately, I already know; you weren't thinking at all. What do you think she's doing now, huh?"_

'_How should I know?'_

"_Oh, you know. Just think; _'never been this close to a stallion' _or maybe _'nopony's ever complemented my flank before'_? You and I both know what that means; she'd most likely never dated before, hay, that was probably her first kiss."_

'…'

"_Say something then, what was she thinking about when she was going to bed last night?"_

'_She was…probably thinking about our current situation, maybe…I don't know, thinking about the way we've gone from target and killer, to friends, to-'_

"_Don't say it! You and I both know we can't get into anything like that again. We know we can't take it…"_

'_I know, but it's true… I may be-'_

"_DAMNIT stallion, don't do it to yourself. I know you're tougher than most but everypony has a weakness. Yours is you can't take somepony you care for dying. You're immortal, she's not, do the math."_

'_Y'know, I hate you sometimes. You can't even let me love, I notice you weren't this assertive when I was with Ditzy you little bastard.'_

"_Yes and you should hate me, I'm a voice in your head that seems to have more sense than you do. And the reason I wasn't so forceful before was because it was your first time doing something so stupid, but I at least I knew you'd learn from it, little good that lesson did. That, and Luna was doing a pretty good job of making you see sense anyway. Real smooth with leaving Ditzy, by the way."_

'_Oh shut up, you know exactly why I did that!'_

"_Yeah, yeah. So, what are you gonna do?"_

'_About Twilight?'_

"_Uh-huh."_

'_I'm gonna do what I said; take my time. I don't wanna rush this.'_

"_Yeah, right."_

'_You got something to say?'_

"_Yeah I do, we both know how you get around mares when you're single."_

'_Maybe, but…I don't know, something about Twilight makes me respect her more in that respect, it's probably the whole 'element of harmony' thing.'_

"…"

'_What?'_

"_You know."_

'_Do I?'_

"_Yes, the reason you even agreed to help her at all in the first place."_

'_Don't start-'_

"_It needs to be said. We both know you have an ulterior motive behind this. What is it?"_

'… _I'd made peace with Twilight, but I needed something to…persuade her over to my side. She's Celestia's student, I needed to take more drastic measures. We both know what I'm gonna have to do now that Luna knows where I am.'_

"_Yes, I do know what you have to do, and that you had to get Twilight on your side to do it without interference and that I would have been fine with, but what did you go and do at the same time?"_

'_Nothing I didn't mean to do.'_

"_Bull, you and I both know you had no intention to actually fall for her, you fool."_

'_Can you really blame me?'_

"_Yes, and easily, you should have taken better precautions. You shouldn't have let yourself fall in love."_

'_You said it; the L word. We don't use that word anymore. What were you telling me, not a second ago?'_

"_Hey, I'm not the moron falling in love here, am I?"_

'_Shut up, I'm no moron and you know what; I've stopped caring about your opinion, even if I so much as like Twilight it has nothing to do with you.' _

"_Whatever…I'll leave you to your own problems. Oh, and I think Twilight just got into bed with you."_

'_Wha-'_

* * *

The assassin woke up, thinking about what he had just dreamt.

'_If that was a normal dream, I'm a filly.'_

It always felt strange when he conversed with the voices so firmly planted in his head. His latest engagement had been a black void with just an echoing voice around him, to which he responded to. He wondered if he had been talking in his sleep. He blinked a few times when he remembered what the voice had left him with. He felt a presence next to him, opening his eyes revealed Twilight Sparkle's outline sitting next to him on the bed. It was hard to tell, given the fact that there was practically no lighting, but she seemed worried.

"B-Blood Moon, are you awake?" He murmured a little, still half asleep, before he squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed them slightly with his hoof.

"Yeah, yeah I'm up. What time is it" he yawned.

"Three in the morning" she told him. He didn't like the way Twilight still seemed nervus about something.

"Something the matter" he asked, sitting up in his loaned bed.

"You were talking in your sleep, it sounded like you were talking to yourself, I mean like you were literally asking yourself something and giving yourself an answer." The stallion frowned to himself in thought.

'_So I was talking, hay, we were both talking.'_

"Did anything I say make sense?" Twilight looked away.

"The only thing I could really make out was my name" she told him, apparently a little embarrassed. He hummed in thought. "What were you dreaming about" she asked, a blush in her tone. The assassin tried to clear his mind, focusing his magic in his horn and letting it spark up, and he kept the glow going until he had it concentrated at the tip of his horn before letting it light up the room in a grey glow. He kept the light dim, as to not put too much strain on his eyes. It was too early for that. In the dim glow he could better see Twilight's face, and the blush that ran across it.

"I was talking with a voice in my head." Twilight gasped.

"Voices" she repeated. Blood Moon shrugged.

"Don't worry about it; it tends to happen to somepony such as myself, an immortal who devotes his life to killing others, I spent a few thousand years just doing that and nothing else, shut away from the world. As you can imagine; life by oneself, surrounded by death and other general horrors tend to put a pony at his wick's end. Insanity is inevitable. As I said though, don't worry about it, they keep me company and one of them is a great story teller." Twilight blinked at him.

"How…how can you be so calm with this?" Blood Moon shrugged.

"I got used to them, and it's not like I can give them up for adoption, is it?" Twilight blanked slightly when he said that, coming back when he poked her slightly.

"Well…what…" she searched for something to say "what were you talking about" she ventured. Blood Moon couldn't help but grin at her question, though it quickly dropped when he thought about what that question actually entailed.

"I was talking about…you and me" he told her. She noticed he didn't use the word 'us'. "I was thinking about…if I'd made the same mistake with you, that I'd made with Ditzy."

"You mean, you think it may be too soon?" He nodded and Twilight smiled. "It's not too soon, nothing's happened to even be too soon." The assassin shook his head.

"It's not that, it's the fact that I even made a move. Normally I would have kept to our friendship going rather than making any kind of advance." Twilight frowned.

"But…I kissed you." Blood Moon shrugged a silent laugh.

"Twilight, do you know why that dance doesn't have a name?"

"Because the pony who made it couldn't think of one" she tried. The assassin smirked.

"No, because it's so recognisable; that dance is the only know dance to involve intimacy between partners. Anypony who knows the dance, also knows what they're getting into. Inviting somepony into it is considered a romantic gesture. I knew what I was getting into, and I went through with it, knowing full well I should have learned my lesson about that sort of thing." Twilight shook her head at him.

"Look at you, seems you're the one beating yourself up now, huh. Why are you beating yourself up so much now anyway?"

"Because I know I did wrong" he stated. Twilight responded with a roll of her eyes before she put her hoof on his chest and pushed him down onto the bed, leaning down after him and pushing her lips against his. He seemed startled by it at first, but his instinct seemed to take over as he returned it; turning his head slightly and pushing back, his tongue pushed against her mouth, demanding entry, she obliged and he instantly dove for that sensitive spot, causing her to moan a little. The mare disengaged the kiss before he rolled her onto her back and things went any further. She put a grin to match the assassin's on her face as she leaned back.

"There, I made the first move. Now you can stop worrying about it" she told him, tapping him on the tip of his nose. Blood Moon lost his grin when she said that; he wasn't sure what to do with such a gesture, Twilight had both put many of his concerns to rest while at the same time…

'_Why can't I find any negatives with this?'_

"_Because there aren't any, as far as I can see. At first it was you making the move I was pissed off at, but now that she's gone and done that I can't see any real down points."_

'_Well, if a pessimist such as yourself can't find anything bad here I'll take it as a given that there isn't anything bad to fret over.'_

"_Yeah, go with that, and make sure you spoon with her."_

'_Wha-'_

The voice was already gone, and the stallion noticed he hadn't said anything for the last minute. Twilight was even waving a hoof in his face.

"Blood Moon, you still in there. I can't help but notice that you seem to be blanking out on me a lot…are you talking to the voices again, because I'm pretty sure that's not very good for you mental heal-WAHH!" The assassin had grabbed her left hoof with his own and pulled her over him and into the bed, putting his right fore-leg over her.

"Twilight, what would you say if I told you that you had just managed to silence one of the most pessimistic voices I've ever known" he whispered into her ear. The mare recovered from the shock and giggled slightly.

"I'd say: I should silence more voices, if that's going to be my reward" she replied, wiggling into him some more to make herself comfy. Blood Moon took a long breath through his nose as he settled with Twilight.

"_That's mah colt."_

"Blood Moon?" He hummed to show he was listening. "Why did you get so…stressed out when you were worried about how sudden this might have been?" The assassin swallowed slightly, truth be told he was slightly embarrassed now that he looked back on himself.

"Because when I learn a lesson, I know that it's always best to take my learning's and act on them. Past experiences tell me that following that course of action is one of the best there is."

"Why?" He sighed slightly and stopped the flow of magic going to his horn, deactivating his illumination spell. He then used his magic to pull the covers up him and Twilight.

"Let me tell you a story."

"Oo, I love stories" Twilight giggled, shifting closer into him. The stallion grinned at her antics before continuing.

"Around eight thousand years ago, I was on a contract. It seemed simple at first; get in, do the deed and get out" he told her, careful with his words. "My problems started when I arrived at the area the mark was at, a simple compound really, and I underestimated this 'simple compound'. I assumed it was going to be easy, huh, little good my assumptions did when I was with my back against the wall and eighteen angry guards cornering me. I only just managed to get out with my flank intact. It taught me to never underestimate. Two hundred years later, I found myself with, what appeared to be, an even simpler contract. It was me, the mark, his bodyguard and his secretary."

"His secretary" Twilight repeated, confused. The stallion nodded above her.

"Yep. Twilight, tell me; what are the requirements of a secretary?" Twilight hummed in thought.

"Good organisation skills, good time keeping, neat hoof-writing, that kind of thing." Blood Moon hummed affirmation.

"Very good, now, would you tell me the requirements of a bodyguard?"

"Good observational skill, hoof-to-hoof fighting skill or magical combat skills, a history in military helps." Once more, the assassin nodded.

"Then why did that secretary have both sets of said skills?" Twilight blinked.

"Wait, are you saying…" The assassin smirked.

"Yep. That secretary, that simple, honest, airheaded little mare was one of the most skilful fighters I've ever met or heard of. I was unprepared, why? Because I underestimated her, and she damn near killed me because of it." Twilight nodded.

"Right" she said at length "but aren't a ninja secretary and a sudden romance pretty different things?" The assassin shrugged.

"Maybe, but I prefer not to take the chance."

"So you'd rather worry yourself senseless instead of just relaxing and going with it." Blood Moon grinned.

"I didn't take you as the sort to just wing it" he told her.

"I'm not, but you seem very volatile" she retorted. The stallion grunted.

"Well, you got me there. But I'm only borderline insane when it only involves me, when it includes somepony I care for, I prefer to be more cautious." It seemed lost on Twilight that he was still casually talking about his mental instability.

"Aww, you care about me" she said, snuggling in further.

"You're not the type to be oblivious Twilight; I care for everypony close to me and though I may not show it to some more than others, say I show more concern for Pinkie Pie than Rainbowdash, it's still there. Besides which, I'm holding you in my hooves right now; I'm pretty sure that has something to do with my care for you."

"Thank you" she yawned. "Now, if we're done talking about how crazy you are, let's get some sleep" she suggested. The stallion nodded, feeling his still heavy eyes.

"Good idea" he responded with a yawn of his own. He felt Twilight snuggle further into him and pull the covers up her some more. Blood Moon responded to her closeness by shifting into her and put his hooves over her, pulling her in comfortably, before drifting back off to sleep.

* * *

Blood Moon, for the second time in a day, awoke. Though this time, it was under much more pleasant circumstances; Twilight's lavender scented mane was right in his muzzle and the smell was just soft enough to be pleasant but strong enough to be tangible; his right fore-hoof was draped over her stomach, stopping just below her soft belly, his left had found its way under her and was being held to her chest by Twilight's own fore-hooves; it seemed Twilight had shifted further into the stallion in their sleep, her back was against his stomach and her flank was pushed against his…

'_Oh buck.'_

"_Hmm, what-whast, wha?"_

'_Were you asleep?'_

"_Yeah, it's not like there's much to do in here."_

'_Yeah, well, we may have a problem.'_

"_What?"_

'_Sleeping with Twilight here-'_

"_Good stallion."_

'_And I may have morning wood.'_

"_HA, you're on your own buddy."_

'_Wha-'_

Already, once more ditching him, the voice was gone, leaving him to his own problems. The assassin wasn't sure what to do; if it were Vinyl he'd probably get a helping hoof getting rid of it, any other mare at all he would have probably just got out of bed and done something about it, be it a cold shower or…anything else, however, he found himself unwilling to leave Twilight's company. It was probably the lavender scented mane in front of him. He decided to just go with it, his member firmly planted between her flank checks, and continue to lay with her, a slight grin on his face. He knew it'd be a little awkward when she awoke but he figured he'd make the most of it while he could. Resting his head on the pillow, he took to softly breathing through his nose, enjoying the scent of Twilight's mane, and allowing his thoughts to wander.

It must have been all of twenty minutes that had passed by the time Twilight stirred herself awake from her sleep, the movement of her rear end doing nothing to kill the stallion's hard on. She murmured slightly groggily to herself as she removed herself from her dream, whatever it was, and she looked around, wondering where she was and what had happened before she remembered what had happened last night. With a small smile on her face she relaxed into the stallion's hold.

"Morning" she whispered. The assassin hugged her tighter.

"Morning" he replied, his throat a bit dry. Twilight hummed contently, shifting her flank slightly before she frowned as she felt something between her checks.

"What" she paused as she moved herself some more, trying to deduce what this strange thing was. "What is that" she asked herself. She heard the stallion holding her swallow slightly.

"That's…me." The mare frowned, once again, shifting to try and discern what it was, unwillingly grinding him. Behind her, Blood Moon's eye started twitching as he felt Twilight's movements through his stallionhood.

"What do you mean, it's you." He waited a full second her to click. A blush erupted across her face; the ones from yesterday were nothing in comparison. "Oh, you mean it's 'you' as in it's your…um." Blood Moon chuckled.

"Yes, my 'hidden blade', it seems, has joined the party" he explained, trying to pull away. He was taken by surprise when Twilight moved with him.

"Um, I-I don't mind" she told him. Her tone of voice left much to be desired in the lines of sincerity.

"Twilight, it's painfully obvious you do" he answered. She put her chin to her chest, hanging her head…sort of.

"Sorry, it's just I've never done anything like this before. I didn't know how to react. Sorry."

"Stop saying sorry, will you? You just said you don't have any experience so it's sort of excusable."

"Alright I'm sorry, I mean sorry, SORRY. Pony feathers" she muttered. The assassin grunted in amusement.

"Not to be judgmental or assuming, or anything, but that sounds like the kind of trap Fluttershy would fall into" he said. Twilight giggled slightly, turning her body around.

"So…um what did you uhhh… d-dream about" she asked the stallion, suddenly having a hard time making conversation when his pulsing member was pushed against her stomach.

"Nothing really, the voice finally shut up."

"That's good" she said breathlessly, her gaze angled up at him in a fierce attempt to keep her gaze away from the organ pushed against her. They stayed silent for a few minutes, Blood Moon bemused at Twilight's predicament and Twilight still somewhat stunned at the stallion's _blatant _casualness, to said predicament.

"Hey, Twilight" a young, male voice came "Twi where are you?" Twilight grimaced in the assassin's grip.

"Pony feathers" she cursed. There was a knock at the assassin's door.

"Hey Twilight, you in there" he called through the door. Twilight quickly clamped a hoof over the assassin's maw, knowing full well how blunt he could be. Blood Moon looked down at her with a confused frown on his face.

"He doesn't know you're here" she hissed. The assassin shrugged understandingly and Twilight removed her hoof, resting it against his chest. Outside, they could hear Spike move away from the door.

"Maybe she went out" he heard the drake mutter to himself, no doubt scratching his head or something. Twilight mouthed a 'thank you' before she pecked him on the nose. They listened as Spike walked away from the door, his tiny footsteps only audible to Blood Moon's ears. Once he was away from the door Twilight calmed, her slightly tensed muscles relaxing. The two rolled apart after a second together, Twilight was about to say something when she noticed the hill in the sheets.

"Um, you're still…" She nodded at it and the stallion looked where she had motioned.

"Oh, right." He cleared his mind of all thoughts and he slowly went flaccid.

"What did you do?" The assassin shrugged.

"I just put you out of my mind…ahh, that sounded cheesy" he answered. Twilight simply smiled at his comments.

"We should get up" the mare suggested. Blood Moon mumbled something about 'no fun' before he vacated the bed. Both on their hooves, the assassin taking a moment to make sure his sheath was properly hidden, they left the spare room they had spent the night together in and went downstairs. "Would you like some breakfast" she asked. The stallion shrugged. He hadn't eaten since the party…wait no he hadn't, Pinkie Pie had gone Pinkamena on him before he had gotten anything down him. His empty stomach made similar reactions to the prospect of food, grumbling angrily (no seriously, it sounded pissed) and once more looked up at him with angry eyes.

"Yeah, I'm game. I think my stomach will kick me in the gut if I didn't." Twilight blinked a few times before she heard his stomach rumble. She giggled as she headed for a kitchen the assassin hadn't noticed before. Spike was working at one of the counters, stood on a wooden stool so he could reach, while a pleasant smell lingered in the air. He glanced around when he heard them enter.

"Morning Spike" Twilight greeted, Blood Moon punctuating it with a simple nod in his direction.

"Morin' Twi. Say, when'd you get here Mooney." The last word in the drake's sentence was said with a sly grin. The assassin went un-phased and was about to retort before Twilight stepped into the kitchen.

"He was here last night." Spike frowned.

"When did he get back here?" The stallion was about to answer but, yet again, Twilight beat him.

"He never left" she told him brightly, sitting at the table in the kitchen. The baby dragon's frown went deeper.

"Really?" Twilight nodded. "Oh" he murmured, dropping the subject. "Oh, by the way" he spoke up again, turning to her, as Blood Moon sat at the table next to Twilight, a discreet gesture not lost on her. "I couldn't find you earlier, where were you?" Once more, the assassin tried to speak up, a lavish story on the tip of his tongue, but once again Twilight got there before him.

"I was a sleeping" she told him simply. Again, Spike frowned at his sister/mother.

"You can't have been; you weren't in your bed" he argued. He then angled his head accusingly. "Were you up all night again, you know that's no good for you" he scolded. The assassin looked over at Twilight with a questioning raised eyebrow. Twilight just smiled kindly.

"I said I was asleep, not in bed" she replied. Spike scratched his head with a claw.

"So…what, you fell asleep reading a book?" Twilight smiled and gave a sight, shaking her head at his obliviousness.

"Yeah, Spike, I was reading again" she said.

"Oh, ok. Why didn't you just say" he asked, turning back to his cooking. "Nuts, no flour" he muttered, hopping off his stool and heading for what Blood Moon could only assume was a pantry.

"Since when does 'reading' mean 'sleeping with a stallion'?" Twilight poked him.

"Well, 'sleeping with a stallion' doesn't sound very good to my assistant, who can be very protective of me I might add, and is only five in dragon years, does it?" The assassin shrugged.

"Maybe not, 'sides, it's not like we're dating, is it?" Twilight hummed her agreement softly.

"Yeah" she said, just as softly. The assassin picked up on her quiet voice.

"I'm back" Spike declared as he waltzed back into the kitchen with a fresh bag of flour in his grasp. After a few minute of Spike cooking up pancakes and the stallion and mare sitting in silence, the dragon was finished and took to serving up his works like a master. The assassin had to admit; the drake was a decent chef.

"So…do you have anything to do today, or do you have some free time?" Blood Moon thought about what was on his roster: figure out who wants Twilight dead, figure out who set the changelings on Ponyville, make trouble for the Goldhooves any way shape or form and…oh yeah, that date with Feather Heart. He looked at the clock, ten to twelve. Huh, that breakfast had been later than he thought. Wait, when did Feather want to see him? Had something to do with a one…and a two…maybe both together? Twelve? Yeah, that was it, twelve. Buck.

"Yeah, one or two things to take care of, I'll be right back though" he assured. Twilight nodded meekly.

"Alright, I think I got a few things to clean up around here anyway" she told him, looking around the pristine library. The stallion nodded. He trotted to the door with Twilight, he pulled his coat and belt onto him with his magic and turned to her and looking over her slightly disappointed face. He could feel his own mood lower with it. A strange sensation, to have your own mood altered by somepony else's. He felt the need to ease her.

"Don't worry about it, I won't be long" he told her. She gave a small smile, slightly reassured by his words. He shot her a lopsided smile before she glanced behind her and stole a kiss from him before turning away with a spring in her step and a blush on her check.

He turned, with a grin on his face, and took a step away from the library and teleported mid-step, appearing outside the town hall. He trotted inside without missing a beat and found his way to the door that lead to Mayor Mare's none-office that was actually Feather's office, pushing through the door to find Mayor Mare and Feather having a conversation about what to do about the whole Goldhooves problem. The two looked up to him and greeted him with a nod and wave, respectively.

"Hello Blood Moon" the mayor greeted "you have anything" she asked hopefully. The assassin let a small smile flash across his face for a second before he spoke.

"Do you have a forensics lab?" The mares glanced at each other.

"Yes, we just had it installed, courtesy of Time Turner" Mayor told him, a slight frown on her face.

'_That stallion…almost like he knew what would happen.'_

"Good, have them take a look at this" he said, pulling his syringe out and floating it over to Mayor, who took it in her hoof and adjusted her glasses to properly see it.

"What is this" she asked. The assassin smirked.

"Let's just say we all experienced it the other day" he said cryptically. Both mares considered what he had said before chuckling to themselves, slight blushes on their faces.

"Either way, that's not why I'm here" he said, glancing at Feather Heart. She looked at the clock on the wall. Mayor mare glanced between them.

"Oh, I see" she said, with a knowing grin on her face. "Have fun you two" she told them as she sauntered back into her actual office, her flank swaying as she went. The mare and stallion smirked at her antics as she went before they turned to each other and smiled softly before turning to the door.

"Know anywhere nice" the stallion asked, glancing at Feather Heart.

"Oh, they're a few nice restaurants around, but I know a good one" she told him. She led him to a fancy looking place, tables outside with parasols over the outside tables and a few waiters trotting around, looking like they belonged in Canterlot rather than Ponyville. A waiter came and took their orders, after which they settled at one of the outdoor tables.

"So" Feather began "tell me about yourself…"

* * *

"You did WHAT?" Rarity's jaw, rather literally, hit the floor. Twilight had invited her fellow unicorn and Applejack over to…well she didn't really have a reason in mind she just felt like seeing them, considering the last time she had seen the apple bucker and the seamstress it had been at Blood Moon's welcome party. And we all know how that turned out. She would have got all her friends together, but Pinkie was busy with the twins, Fluttershy was dealing with a sick vulture and Rainbowdash had some weather related things to see to. When the purple unicorn had welcomed her friends in she hadn't intended to tell them about last night's events, but Rarity had struck up the conversation about strange dreams and Twilight had let slip that the hooded stallion dreamt about his voices last night. Things had progressed from there and somehow she had been backed into a corner and found no way out asides telling them about last night's sleeping arrangements. The three mares were all sat on their haunches in a small triangle in her bedroom, Spike downstairs, and two of them started laughing uncontrollably.

"Ah don't believe it" Applejack laughed "our own little Twilight Sparkle sleepin' with a stallion." Twilight tried to glare at her but it just came out as more furious blushing.

"Knock it off! It's not like we got up to anything" she retorted. Little good it did when she remembered how they had woken up together and her blush intensified.

"Ah think somepony's tellin' a little white lie" Applejack answered, still laughing. She noticed the way her friend's redness crept further over her face and her laughter died down some. "Di-uhhh, did ya'll git up ta anythang?" Twilight looked at the floor and dragged her hoof across it slightly.

"W-well, when he woke up he was…standing to attention" she admitted. Rarity and Applejack glanced at each other before bursting out laughing again.

"It seems you've become a victim to morning wood darling" Rarity told her. Twilight bit her lip and looked away from them as her mind travelled back to that scene in her mind; she remembered the feeling of him being between her flack checks and how…good it felt.

"Uhh, T-Twi. What are ya'll thinkin' about?" The purple unicorn pulled her gaze back to her friends, who both had blushes as deep as her own on their faces as they looked at her. Twilight frowned; they weren't looking straight at her, but slightly lower at… there was a small puddle of moisture between her hind legs. Her eyes widened immeasurably.

"Oh my gosh" she whispered. Applejack and Rarity were no longer laughing; instead their eyes were locked onto the spot between their aroused friend's legs.

"Shucks" Applejack started "ah-ah didn't know you felt THAT way about him" she admitted. Rarity managed to tear her gaze away from Twilight's never regions (an act she never thought she'd have to do) and looked her friend in the eye.

"Well, Twilight, it seems" she trotted up to her "you've found your special somepony." Twilight blinked.

"I…but…what?" Rarity chuckled her ladylike chuckle.

"Oh, come on" she sang, waving a hoof in the air "it's obvious you like him. The evidence certainly agrees with me" she said pointing at the spot, causing Twilight to redden again. Applejack spoke up when she said this.

"Now, now Rarity, don't be jumpin' to conclusions. The two's jus' met, an' there could be any number a' reasons she fell asleep with him. 'sides, it ain't like they kissed or nutin'." Twilight nodded her head franticly.

"Yeah, it's not like I kissed him or anything." Applejack saw right through it.

"Now wait a minute, Twi, did ya'll kiss him?"

"No" she said franticly before she caught herself and tried to be more causal "no" she told them unconvincingly, waving a hoof in the air "no he didn't kiss me or anything that would be…be ridiculous, I mean he's a notorious killer, right?" Rarity grinned at her before turning to Applejack.

"Applejack, dearie, my good natured lie detector, how would you judge that last sentence?" The mare put an overly dramatic hoof to her chin in overly dramatic though.

"Well, ah'd say Twilight Sparkle wasn't telling even a HINT of truth there." She caved. Twilight put her head on the floor and hid behind her hooves.

"Alright, alright so I did. I kissed him and I enjoyed it, so sue me. So I happen to like a stallion who kills for a living, but he's also one of the most caring, honest, flattering, good natured and…downright attractive stallion's I've ever met in my entire life, but I know nopony's ever going to approve of this so I really need you with me in this girls." The orange and white mares looked at each other for a second before the wrapped Twilight in a hug.

"It's alright Twi. We're with yah, all tha way."

"Of course we are dear; we just wanted you to admit it." Twilight smiled and returned the embrace. After a few more minutes of this hug, there was a knock on the front door.

Twilight went down to answer it. There were three guards; she recognised the one in the middle as lieutenant Hardhoof, a unicorn with gold fur and a black mane, with his silver inlays to his golden armour, but the other two were just grunts she didn't know.

"Yes" she asked, slightly worried as to why three guards would show up on her doorstep.

"Twilight Sparkle" Hardhoof asked. The mare nodded. In an instant, a black sack was on her head and she was clobbered across the head, knocking her out. Rarity screamed when she saw what had happened and Applejack charged the guards. The two grunts managed to restrain her while Hardhoof hit her across the temple, serving her the same fate as Twilight. Rarity stood, horrified at the sight, and turned to escape but one of the guards had already lunged and put her out like a light.

"That's all of them sir" one of the grunts said, a grey earth pony. Hardhoof smirked.

"Good, elements of harmony, three for one sale" he joked, the grunts forcing out some laughs.

"Wasn't there a baby dragon living here?" The lieutenant sneered.

"A baby dragon" he snorted "that kind of pathetic creature is no threat. Let's find the rest of these mares so we can put this plan into action. The faster we are, the faster I find myself burdened with Shining Armour's position."

* * *

Pinkie Pie sat on a couch in the Cake's living room, watching Pound and Pumpkin playing on the floor. She had spent the last few hours doing the whole 'babysitting' shtick; nappy changing, burping, feeding, all the usual stuff. As the twins messed around with their toys, Pinkie began to wonder what it would be like to have a foal of her own. She'd listened to all the lectures and the such in school but when she looked after the twins she felt an overwhelming curiosity as to what it would be like if they were her own family. She sat back, wondering if she'd ever find a stallion for her; not many took her for one of sensible thought, or even a mare who dreamed about meeting the perfect stallion, which confused even her; all mares wanted to settle down eventually, right? For Pinkie, she put heavy emphasis on the word 'eventually', she was a party girl at heart, what with it being a part of her but she could only wonder if she could find somepony like her, a stallion who appreciated partying as much as she did, and the smiles it could bring to a pony. Or maybe she needed the opposite of her. What was the phrase; _opposites attract? _Her thoughts drifted to a certain hooded stallion; Blood Moon didn't like to party as much as she did, but he seemed to get where she came from with her enthusiasm for them, but then, he didn't smile much; he grinned, smirked and joked a lot sure, but he didn't actually smile too much. She had made him smile that once though, and it made her feel more proud than any other smile she had invoked. Well, maybe asides Cranky-doodle. As these thoughts went through her mind, the twins had played themselves tired and were kipping on the carpet. She smiled warmly at them before putting the comfortably on her back and carrying them to their room, before putting them in their respective cots. She decided to retire to the kitchen, maybe get some baking done, but as she was about to enter the tile floored room, she heard a knock on the backdoor. This struck her as strange; the backdoor was only really used for delivers, nopony ever actually called into Sugarcube corner via the backdoor. With a raised eyebrow, she went over and opened it up to revel two guard ponies. Pinkie stood in the doorway, looking at her visitors with a wide and pleasant smile, oblivious to the stern looks they were giving her.

"Hi" she greeted brightly. The guards made no motion to return her pleasantries.

"Miss Pie" the one on the left asked her. He was an earth pony and had a beige coat and silver mane.

"Yep, that's me! But I prefer Pinkie Pie or Pinks or Pinkie. What's your name?" The two guards attempted to remain stoic, but the one who had spoken eye had twitched.

"My name is Steelblade and this is Ironshield."

"Hi, Steelblade Hi, Ironshield! What's up?" Steelblade's eye twitched again.

"You're under arrest" he told her, moving in slightly. Pinkie's smile dropped.

"What, why?" A voice behind her answered.

"For attempted murder and harbouring a fugitive" Hardhoof explained, a smug grin on his face.

"What? But I didn't-" She stopped talking when she saw he wind up his hoof and prepare to strike her. She squealed and dodged out of the way, ducking away from him and scrambling away from him. Ironshield lunged for her and grabbed her, but Pinkie's flexibility allowed her to squirm out of his hold and make another attempt at escape. She almost made it to the door when Hardhoof appeared in front of her with a flash. She skidded to a halt and stopped right before her. He grabbed her harshly by the mane and hauled her up to eye level.

"Well aren't you a pretty little thing" he said, his rancid breath washing over her. "I'm gonna _love_ having you as a prisoner." Pinkie managed to muster enough strength to slap him. He sneered at her one last time before he slammed her head on the counter and let her drop. He spat on her unconscious form. "Crazy little whorse" he growled, rubbing his check. He kicked her as he trotted past. "Put her with the others" he ordered motioning his head back at the pink pony. "Four down" he muttered.

* * *

Rainbowdash went about her duties as head weathermare diligently. Everypony in Ponyville knew how loyal she was to her town, and her friends, knowing she would never let them down. She'd just finished up cleaning up a mess Thunderlane had made. He somehow, don't ask me how, he managed to mix up next month's weather schedule with this month's, so rather than having pleasant orange sky in the evening, there was a bunch of storm clouds on the way from Cloudsdale. She'd had to wrangle up the storm clouds before they managed to make anypony upset, take them back to Cloudsdale and get rid of any lingering clouds hanging in the sky that were messing around with the view of Celestia's sun set.

As the cyan blue furred mare lay on a particularly plush clouds, on her way to the land of dreams (more specifically; her, Spitfire and Soarin in wonderbolts uniforms doing some questionable things in the locker rooms). As she was about to become completely asleep, a voice from below stirred her.

"Rainbowdash" the voice called again. She grumbled to herself and looked over the side of her cloud. Below her a group of guards stood; one a unicorn in silver and gold armour, the other an earth pony in standard gold and the other a Pegasus. All three of them looked up at her, stood in a triangle.

"What" she called back down, making her annoyance known to them.

"Oh, it's nothing really, just need to go through a few weather formalities, y'know, with all the hoo-ha earlier" he told her casually. Rainbow frowned but descended either way. Once she was low enough to talk to them without shouting she stopped, but didn't land. She looked at his armour again.

"Hey wait, aren't you the boss of all the guards around here?" The stallion smiled good-naturedly.

"I am" he replied. The mare frowned.

"Then how come you're dealing with something like weather?" The guard shrugged.

"I was the only guard not busy." That satisfied the Pegasus. She shrugged.

"Alright" she said as she landed "so the weather thing, huh?" The stallion chuckled and scratched the back of his neck.

"Yeah, that Thunderlane, huh? If I had a bit every time I had to fill out some formal apology for Cloudsdale, ha, I'd have enough to pay for some proper training for him." Rainbowdash glared.

"Hey, lay off! His little brother hasn't been too good lately, and I'll have you know, I trained him!" The guard waved a hoof at her, getting impatient with her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just come with us and we'll get this over with" he told her.

"Whatever" Rainbow replied with trotting off before him, eager to get this over with. Hardhoof watched as she went, eyeing her flank. He slapped his hoof across it and Rainbowdash shot into the air furiously. "WHAT THE BUCK" she demanded. She didn't get an answer, instead the Pegasus guard sped her way, taking her off ground, and tackling her to the ground where the earth pony held her down. Hardhoof trotted up to her nonchalantly and raised his hoof and slammed it down in her face.

"That's five. Who's next?"

"Somepony called 'Fluttershy'" Ironshield answered. Hardhoof rolled his eyes.

"Oh, her" he muttered. "That shouldn't be too hard, the little wimp. We'll take the rest of these bitches and nab her on the way" he told them as Steelblade lifted Rainbowdash onto his back. He smirked as the trotted towards the place he'd left the rest of these mares bound and gagged. He couldn't wait for this to play out.

* * *

"This was nice" Feather Heart told him as she stood from the table "It was nice getting to know you" she said.

"Yeah, you too" Blood Moon replied. He threw some bits onto the table as pay and tip before he turned away to walk Feather Heart back to the town hall. Once they arrived, Feather turned to her date and smiled warmly.

"It was nice seeing you again" she said.

"Any you Feather, would you like to do this again sometime?" She smiled again.

"Sure, but, uhhh, let's wait until this whole Goldhooves thing has blown over, huh." The stallion nodded, liking that idea.

"Sounds good, we'll make a date when-" Feather Heart cut him off by pushing her lips against his, hard. She had all the subtlety of dragon, and took to moaning as subtly as one as well, pushing her tongue into his maw and wrestled his own furiously. She kept up her efforts for thirty long, steamy, sexy seconds before she pulled back, a strand of saliva between their tongues. "When this is all taken care of" the assassin finished. Feather gave a naughty giggle as she trotted past him, bumping her flank to his as she past.

"I'll see you then" she told him huskily. She trotted away, adding some healthy sway to her flank. The stallion grinned at the image. He turned away from the town hall, and trotted away from it, on his way to Twilight's library, as he promised, he thought about him and Feather Heart; he liked her, but he had to admit: he preferred Twilight. She wasn't just sex appeal, that said, Feather did have a lot of it. But Twilight…he found her very attractive, and whenever she got into the right mood…he grinned at the thought. She was more than just a pretty face as well, she was highly intelligent and her innocence warmed his heart and he was amused by her obliviousness. He wasn't the type to be insulting to a mare, but he also wasn't the type to betray a mare's trust in him, so he wouldn't even _try _and date both of them. He'd gut himself before he did that. Feather was a nice mare, but Twilight was a truly great mare. His heart skipped a beat, a rare occurrence, when his next thought crossed his mind.

'_Do I love her?'_

It finally hit him, if he thought of Twilight of something more than a friend he wasn't sure how it could turn out for him, loving was a very…sensitive subject for him. He swallowed at that thought. The last time he had loved somepony it hadn't ended well. He arrived at Twilight's library, and stood outside the door. His thoughts were set in a whirlwind, his voices nowhere to be heard. He hadn't loved in…

'_Starswirl's beard, that's an age ago.'_

He steeled himself and trotted through the door. He looked around, searching for the purple unicorn mare. She wasn't there. Assuming she'd gone out to do something he shrugged and turned away, trotting back out, and closing the door behind him with his magic. He then teleported to his home, not allowing himself to go over his thoughts again. As he trotted inside his house on the hill he was hit with the overwhelming sense of emptiness.

"Discord's antlers, this place is hollow. I need to fill this place with…something. A pet, I need a pet, some company. Hmm, that cottage just outside the Everfree, it seemed to be home of a bunch of animals, maybe whoever lives there puts them up for adoption." The stallion then realised he was talking to himself; no worry, he did a lot of things no good for his mental health, what was one more? He teleported out of his home and appeared at the home on edge of the Everfree. He trotted towards the door and knocked on before waiting patiently; the door was opened by non-other than Fluttershy. The assassin blinked and whipped his head around and saw the great, looming forest still there, not one hundred yards away from the front door of Fluttershy's cottage.

"Hello" she asked, ever timid, poking her head around a very slight crack between the door and its frame. She saw Blood Moon and squeaked. "O-oh, Blood Moon, hello there. Is something the matter" she asked when she saw his face.

"Oh, uhh, nothing. I just can't believe you live this close to the Everfree." She pushed her door open further so he could properly see her.

"W-well, I don't live here for the forest, I live here so I can have peace and quiet for all my animal friends. It scares me sometimes but my friends protect me from anything that might come out of there to hurt me." Blood Moon raised an eyebrow, who would want to hurt such a beautiful and adorable creature. "I-is there anything I can help you with?" The stallion brightened up when she asked him that.

"Yeah, I'm looking for a pet of some sort" he explained. The mare brightened up massively when he told her that, inviting him in.

"Oh, well you've come to the right pony then" she trotted off ahead of him "Now, Blood Moon, my dear, I cannot express my delight, it's abundantly clear, that somewhere out here, is the pet that will suit you just right" she sang. The assassin looked on with a bored and slackened face.

"Fluttershy" she turned with a rhythmic 'hmm'? "No songs. And don't call me 'dear'." The mare stopped her song, apparently taken by surprise, and looked at him blankly.

"Oh, um, ok" she said, more timid than ever.

"So what animals do live here with you" he asked as he approached Fluttershy, who seemed to have gone back to her ever nervus state.

"Well, lots of animals live here, and I'm more than happy to see them off to a good home. But, I don't think many of them would really suit you" she told him, trotting next to him as he explored the critter-less home.

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy tapped him on the shoulder, prompting him to look around. Upon doing so, he saw a large group of critters cowering in a corner, protected by a bear doing a bad job of keeping a stiff upper lip. "Huh…" he looked on blankly before he approached them, causing them to back up against the wall.

"Now, now little friends, say hello to Blood Moon." The animals shook their heads franticly, starting and ending all in freaky unison. Fluttershy gasped and put a hoof to her mouth. "Oh my, they've never reacted this way to anypony before; I don't know what could be causing it."

"I've got a good idea" he answered.

"What?"

"Animals are said to have a good sense of character, I can only guess they're going off their instincts."

"Oh my, I'm so sorry; I've never had any of my animals do this before, they're usually very friendly." The assassin shrugged.

"Not to worry, it just narrows the playing field. I'm looking for something loyal, nothing more." Fluttershy looked distraught.

"B-but they are all the animals and critters here." The assassin grunted disappointedly.

"Well, that…makes things difficult" he admitted.

"W-why don't you come outside, I'm positive there'll be more critters out there who're just dying to meet you" she told him, apparently missing that she had just contradicted herself. Blood Moon shrugged and followed her out. No other animals were hanging around, causing Fluttershy to hang her head in defeat. "Oh, I'm sorry" she squeaked "but it's just that I've never had my animals get so scared at the sight of a pony before." The stallion waved his hoof to stop her.

"Ahh, don't worry about it, you tried. I mean, it's not like I'm gonna come to Ponyville, make friends, get a house AND find a loyal pet to stand beside me for all eternity, is it?" Fluttershy was about to answer his pessimistic attitude with an assurance that she would find him a pet of some sort, but before she could, a great call of an equally great bird was heard. The mare and stallion looked at each other in confusion; they both recognised that call. It was the call of a phoenix.

"Fluttershy, I didn't know you kept a phoenix here" he told her in total awe.

"I don't" she replied, in equal awe. The great bird of flame made a majestic show of flying low over Fluttershy's home before turning gracefully and crashing not so gracefully into the stallion who tumbled around and over until he managed to steady himself, the bird in his hoof's protective hold. He frowned when he noticed the bad angle the bird's wing was at, and the state its face was in. "Oh dear, her wing's broken" Fluttershy states.

"No, this is a male; you see the head piece, its three wide feathers, not the three thin feathers with a wide tip." Fluttershy gasped in awe.

"Wow, how do you know that? It's just, I-I know lots about animal, but I've never really known much about phoenixes, what with them being so rare and all." The assassin shrugged as he fired up a healing spell, touching his horn to the broken wing tentatively, tapping it lightly as the phoenix cringed slightly as the bone reformed.

"I used to own one, a female to be exact; I know a lot about this majestic race of birds. For example: do you know how the immortal phoenix reproduces?" The mare wasn't fazed by the question; she simply shook her head as she watched him inject a very small amount of a fluid inside a syringe he had kept in his pouch into the bird's rear end before he rubbed the sore spot softly, the bird responded by cawing softly and happily. "The female phoenix can lay from four to sixteen eggs in one go. Of those phoenix chicks, only one in four will be female, the rest will be male. Once they come of age, the male phoenix will leave the nest in search of a place to make their own. Upon finding a suitable place to build a home, they will most likely have competition to deal with; be it a brother or a phoenix from another nest, the two will fight to the death for this spot, severely thinning the population of male phoenixes. The females will then go in search of a mate to breed with. Now, according to my math, on average only around half of the male phoenix will actually get a mate, those who do not will simply fly to the nearest active volcano and fight their days away. It seems this one was one of the unfortunate few to not find his own girl, poor guy. Look at him." Fluttershy took a closer look at his face and body; on his face, going across his beck, were three thin scars; on his left wing a small bunch of his feathers were missing; and he had another set of three claw marks going across his chest and body in a think, and remarkable badassed, set of another three scars. Fluttershy determined that they had, indeed, come from another phoenix, going on the fact that a phoenix had three talons on each foot. Once his wing was healed he hopped onto his feet before the dark stallion, who had relaxed onto his front. The phoenix leaned up and nuzzled the assassin as thanks, who grinned at the gesture and returned it. The phoenix spread his impressive wing span and took to the air, but didn't go very far; instead he just landed on Blood Moon's left shoulder. Fluttershy giggled before she reached up and stroked the phoenix.

"I think you found a friend" she said, still fussing the fire bird who was glad for the attention.

"We're both fighters, we're bound to get along with each other" he said. Fluttershy withdrew her hoof and cocked her head to the side.

"He'll need a name." The stallion and phoenix glanced at each other, before the stallion put a hoof to his chin and the phoenix did the same with his wing, in more of that freaky unison thing. Fluttershy perked up. "I have an idea" she exclaimed before she hid behind her mane in fear of the sudden attention "if-if you don't mind my saying" she whispered. The bird and stallion glanced at each other again before shrugging in unison.

"Ok, what is it?" Fluttershy peeked out from behind her mane.

"Um, I-I was thinking you could call him H-Hunter" she suggested. The stallion put a hoof to his chin.

"Why?"

"Well, your name is 'Blood Moon' a-and another name for the blood moon is the hunter's moon" she said before she crouched down and hid further behind her mane. "I-if you don't like it…" she trailed off and squeaked adorably.

"Hunter" he repeated, rolling the name around his mouth and liking the feel of it. "What do you think" he asked the bird perched on him. The phoenix looked up in though before he looked back at his perch and nodding, his eyes showing a smile his beck couldn't. "Hunter" he said again, he looked at Fluttershy. "Perfect" he complemented. The mare looked up with a very slight smile on her face.

_Phit_

The assassin knew that sound, he would know it anywhere. Fluttershy slumped to the floor, confirming his fears. 'Hunter' took flight when he saw the mare fall the ground, her mane around her face.

_Phit_

The assassin's hoof shot up, faster than anypony's eyes could register, and caught the dart in his hoof. Fluttershy gained a silver glow, causing the assassin to snap his gaze over to her. His own grey aura appeared around the mare, pushing out and dispelling the attempt to move the animal caretaker. A huge earth pony guard burst from some bushes, charging at Blood Moon and taking him off his hooves. Fluttershy, once again, grew a silver aura. The earth pony kept his charged and tackled the assassin to the ground, reducing his efforts of saving Fluttershy to watching helplessly. She was pulled away from the fray and into the same bush line as this earth pony had come from.

The assassin turned his full attention to the stallion holding him down; he wore a set of standard issue gold armour. That was all he needed. He slammed his forehead into his opponent's face causing him to fall off of him, holding his muzzle and cursing. The guard stood up, blood pouring down his face, and snarled at the assassin. He charged again, throwing his right hoof in an attempt at hitting Blood Moon in the temple. He ducked under it and countered by slapping his supporting hoof from beneath him. He grabbed the guard's head, picked it up and cracked it into a nearby tree stump and throwing him away. The guard staggered up and shook the dizziness out of his skull. With a raw of anger, he charged again, prompting the killer to frown at his stupidity as he continued with this rather fruitless effort of just galloping at him. Blood Moon sidestepped and grabbed his mane and using his momentum to spin and throw him away from him and into a nearby fence.

"You don't learn very quickly do you" he asked with a lopsided grin. The guard growled and stood, advancing more cautiously now. As he got close he moved around him, back arched offensively, while the assassin stood laidback and nonchalantly. The guard lunged forward and the assassin slipped out of the way, chopping the length of his right hoof into the neck of the guard. He jumped and flipped over, landing on the guards back. The earth pony panicked and started throwing his weight around in an effort to dislodge the assassin on his back. Blood Moon grabbed the back of his armour and planted his hind-hooves on either side of his back, his left fore-hoof in the air like a rodeo. The guard gave an almighty throw and the dark stallion leaped off of his back, using the momentum to add to the force of his strike into his muzzle, further breaking the broken nose, the guard backed up, holding his muzzle again and cursing angrily. Blood Moon looked down at the dart in his hoof and back at the guard holding his nose before stabbing it into his neck. He watched the stallion slowly lose consciousness and fall into a drug induced sleep before gripping him by the front of his armour and hauling him over his back, and trotting his way back to Ponyville. Hunter appeared next to him, flying slowly besides him. It didn't take long to get back to the town.

Many of the residents of Ponyville were either indoors or getting treated to the sight of the assassin with a guard over his back and a phoenix flying next to him. The stallion went to his home, stripped the guard of his armour and bound him with a fibre wire that he kept coiled in the sleeve above his navigational pouch. Fore and hind legs tied together, he put him in the basement and waited. Two hours later, the guard stirred awake and was met with the basement of Blood Moon's home, lit by four candles, one on each wall.

"Sleep well" the assassin asked in a friendly fashion. He was stood below one of the candles, putting his face in the shadows, making it invisible to the stallion. The guard whipped his gaze around, glaring at his captor.

"W-who are you" he demanded "where am I!?" The assassin smirked to himself.

"Everywhere, yet nowhere. That's not important right now though, what is important right now, is that you are here with me. Only me. This room is far, far away from anypony else so, as the saying goes, nopony can hear you scream." The assassin put no emotion into twistedly friendly voice, keeping his captive unnerved by the apparent heartlessness of him and staying unnaturally, and eerily, calm. "Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions. Answer truthfully and you don't get hurt. Don't answer truthfully and…well, you'll find out. So, first question, why did you take Fluttershy?" The guard snorted.

"Because she's a known criminal, she housed you and declined to not turn you over to the proper authorities." Blood Moon grunted.

"You actually think, Fluttershy is a criminal? She has got to be one of the most innocent of ponies I've ever met. But anyhow, second question, where did you take her?" The guard laughed.

"Ha, I'll never tell you that." The assassin chuckled slightly.

"Now that wasn't very honest of you, I _always _get my answers. Also, you were wondering about what I'd do to you if you weren't honest with me…" His horn glowed and the guard felt a sudden tingling all over his body. He started sweating and squirming around.

"What-what are you doing?" He started panicking in earnest, really moving around and trying to get closer to his captor and find out what was happening to him.

"Well I'm using a spell, aren't I? This spell in particular is a very advanced spell of the Umbra Linguam School of shadow magic; the word is change and it takes the form of _fire, _change and power in its most primal form. What I'm doing at the moment is burning you from the inside. You won't be harmed, unless I get bored, but you will feel all the pain I wish for you to feel. I'm gonna give you a little taste; let's say you're at one at the moment. This is five." His horn's glow intensified and the guard started screaming and writing around on the ground until the assassin toned it down, utterly bemused at his pain. "Now then, where did you take Fluttershy?" The guard swallowed and took a few breaths.

"I-I won't-"

"Seven." His horn took to glowing again, stronger than before, and the guard started screaming and twisting again, more intense than before. "Tell. Me. What. I. Want. To. Know or I'll take this all the way to eleven." He turned down the pain and watched as the guard took more shuddering breaths.

"Never" he spat. Blood Moon sighed and stepped from below the candle and stepped up to the stallion.

"I was hoping to avoid any barbarism" he told him. He pulled out his blade with his magic and put a deep cut in his captive's left hind-leg, making sure not to get anything important. The guard cringed as the weapon bit into his skin and muscle, drawing blood. The assassin went to his other hind-leg and cut into that leg as well. "Where. Is. She?"

"B-Buck you" he barked. Blood Moon shrugged to himself. He used his magic to remove the fibre wire and slip it back into his belt, he then used it to force the guard's legs to the floor, immobilising him.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a very patient pony and my limited mercy is wearing thin. I'll ask you one last time: where, did you take her?" The stallion responded by shaking his head rapidly. Once more, the assassin sighed, this time with an unhappy shrug, before he raised his blade above his head. He brought it down on his limp, just above the knee, and watched it roll away nonchalantly. The guard pony watched with wide eyes, his chest rising and falling rapidly and tears forming in his eyes and Blood Moon knew why; cutting off an earth pony's leg, or even just disabling it, was the same as cutting off a Pegasus's wing or a unicorn's horn. It was their lively hood and they did what they did with their legs. "Where is she? You have three other legs for me to play with, and don't think I won't. Tell me where she is" he ordered. The guard sniffled and tried to struggle free of the unicorn's magic hold, to no avail. Blood Moon rolled his eyes and moved to his other hind-leg.

"Please, please sweet Celestia, don't" the guard pleaded. Blood Moon looked the guard in the eye through the darkness.

"I'm not on the best of terms with Celestia." After he said this, he put his sword to the guard's leg and started to slowly saw away at it. The guard shrieked for the heavens as the dark stallion slowly made his way through. When he met the bone he stopped sawing, instead he just piled on the pressure until the bone snapped in two and he began sawing again until he had cut off his captive's second hind-leg. The guard whimpered and snivelled under the assassin's hold. "Y'know, I'm not going to let you live. I would have, but you didn't talk. So now, my offer is to let the pain stop. I trust you know what I mean by that." He trotted up to the guards face and looked down at him. "You can make it stop you know. Just tell me where she is." The guard started crying in earnest when he learned he had no chance of getting out alive.

"I-I can't, I'm under orders." Blood Moon shook his head disappointedly and looked over to the leg he had just severed. Sheathing his sword, he picked up the disembodied leg and held it over the guard in his magical grip.

"Tell me" he hit the guard across the face with the leg…with the wet end. "Where" he hit him again, harder "she" again, he hit harder getting a dull _crack _and wet _slap _at once. The guard's head was being thrown side to side with each strike. "Is."

"Stop, stop, please. I'll tell you" he submitted.

"There's a good lad" the assassin said, tossing the leg behind him. "Now, tell me what I want to know." The guard swallowed.

"I-I, we took the mare to the old castle in the Everfree" he revealed "Lieutenant Hardhoof ordered we take her and the rest of the elements of harmony there-"

"What?" The assassin's voice turned guttural, terrifying and down-right evil when he asked this.

"T-Twilight Sparkle, Rainbowdash, Pinkamena Pie, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy were all declared criminals by the lieutenant; he said they had all taken part in harbouring a fugitive, you." The assassin didn't change his facial expression, but his eyes betrayed him, judging by the way the guard kept struggling to get away.

"These orders, who did they come from?" The guard blinked and swallowed.

"H-Hardhoof told us Captain Armour himself had given them personally." Blood Moon put a hoof to his chin.

"And he only answers to Celestia" the assassin murmured. "All six of them?" The guard nodded. "The Everfree palace?" Once more, he nodded. The assassin looked him in the eye, firing up his illumination spell, blinding the guard momentarily. "You took part in this" he growled "in abducting the girls?" The guard bit his lower lip, squeezing his eyes shut as he nodded his head furiously. Blood Moon raised himself from the stallion's face and killed his horn's glow. He turned away and trotted away and back into the candle light, turning back to his captive. "If you'll indulge me, I wish to use something I've being working on. You see, most other schools of magic have no real implemented skill, maybe asides levitation; you learn a spell, you cast it and you get what it is, and that only. Umbra, however, takes a certain amount of skill to use it to its full potential, for example; the spell 'change' is only supposed to create fire, I have, shall we say, tinkered with it some, as you know, to grant me access to a few extra effects. This spell is battle, and I will use it to the same ends. Torture. Well, to an extent, I am going to kill you, right here and right now." His horn sparked up and the guard's started screaming again. For five long, painful and scream filled minutes the guard lay on the ground writhing and moving to try and stop whatever was causing him such pain. After the assassin was done with his fun, he let four vine like, thin tendrils of darkness rip through the guard; one had gone through his gut, two either side his chest and the other just below his neck. The assassin had them bunch together and dive into the guard's maw, where they paused for a second before spreading apart, ripping the stallion's head into four chunks of skull, brain matter and a splattering of blood. Blood Moon watched the dead body for a few seconds before he noticed the bit of brain that had found its way onto his chest, and flicked it off with his hoof. He burned what he could with his fire before he made his way upstairs.

Up there, he found Hunter perched on the back of a chair, waiting patiently for the assassin's return. Blood Moon trotted past, stroking his bird's head as he went past, before he nodded his head in his own direction. Hunter flapped his wings and landed on the assassin's back, after doing so the stallion trotted out of his home. Shutting the door he stopped, lowering his head and concentrating. Teleporting is a strange form of magic; most forms, including Umbra, had the power of the spell decided by the amount of magical effort you put into it, the greater the amount, the stronger the spell. Teleporting, on the other hoof, took only one set amount of effort to perform the spell, however, depending on the distance between the destination and starting position, you had to concentrate harder to make sure you ended up in the right place. That was what the assassin was doing right now; concentrating on where he wanted to head. He put the image into his head, and with a burst of light and magic, he appeared there; the old remains of a small shack, nothing but burnt embers and charred wood.

Blood Moon trotted through what used to be his home. It was in the middle of frozen tundra, swampland no extra charge. He kicked a few bits of dead wood around as he looked for the small wood covered hatch. In the occupation of assassin, there is said to be no rules, and there aren't, the only rules that exist are the one's made by the assassin. There are two things all assassins universally know however; a) if a client rips you off, kill them and b) if you're going to leave anything behind, make sure you're only you know how to find it. It was the same here; anypony else would see this as a simple ruin, but to the assassin this was a haven of safety. And a few other things. He kicked a log of blackened wood away and found what he was looking for; a black iron hatch with no visible hinges or handle. He put his hoof to the metal and cast the spell only he knew. The locks released with a slight hiss, the hatch pushed itself up and open, allowing the stallion to lead through and into his little home away from home. Blood Moon opened the door directly ahead of him and entered his armoury; a room of grey stone walls, all of which were covered in weapon racks which held so many weapons they groaned slightly under the pressure. He made his way forward, his horn lighting candles as he went; he approached the three glass cases at the end of the room. Inside these cases were a set of armour, all of which he'd forged himself.

In the first was his old war suit; it was made from jet black plated metal, the individual pieces went over the next like metal scales and were all sharpened edges, spikes and points pushing out from each plate giving it a demonic feel; the armour around the legs was of twisted, plated metal, in much the same way the armour was; a blood red cape ran down the left side, the assassin's cutie mare embedded into the fabric; the hood was made from leather, courtesy of a griffon, and had smaller metal scales going over it, the hood was an eagle design, reaching down a little past his eye line.

The second was his original assassin robes, which he'd, used when he first started out; it was made from heavy, thick black material going over his back, flank and loosely wrapping around his chest and going down his fore-legs; a midnight blue short cape, not reaching his flank, was draped across his back, a dull shade of gold worked into the design and colour scheme, the same material and style used for the hood that reached over his brow; the robes had neat black metal on the front and hind-legs; the cape hid a plethora of weapons that ranged from throwing knives, tomahawks and smoke pellets on his left side to a pair of short swords crossed on his left, dark brown, leather buckles and iron straps holding the sheathes in place; the armour itself had weapons of its own, one the left bracer a coil of reinforced steel fishing wire sat with a Japonyese style kunai attached to the end, simply put, it was a better version of the original rope-dart, this weapon was matched on the right side by a weapon of the assassin's own design, it was a miniaturised crossbow that sat against the bracer, capable of firing a steel bolt over one hundred meters with a deadly accuracy.

The third suit of armour was one that he rarely wore any more. It was his old armour of the Illuminating night uprising, the rebellion against Discord that had been headed by Illumination and Nocturnal, their efforts to push him off the throne and place their daughters there instead. That armour brought back painful memories, the way Hunter sensed his mood and nuzzled him was proof enough for that. Tearing his gaze away from the set of gold and black armour, petting his bird as he did, he set his gaze onto his old robes. Maybe 'old' was too judgmental a word, given their pristine condition.

He trotted over to them, floating his coat and belt off and hanging them off a hook in the wall. Opening the case door, he was hit with the scent of metal, age and leather. He donned his robe, shifting the straps and buckles on his back comfortably, before he made sure all the weapons were in place properly and checking his inventory; he had twenty throwing knives, all kept in a neat pair of rows, three tomahawk what're good for throwing and hacking, three high density smoke pellets, a pouch of fifteen miniature steel bolts and a pouch of specialised bolts; sleep, poison and armour piercing, five each. The right side of his robes were home to a pair of crossed blades, they were similar in many ways to the blade he preferred to keep on his, asides for the serrated edge at the base of the blades. Beneath the crossed sheaths three scabbards sat, all with a dagger in them and for good reason; he was following the three blade rule. One dagger would have a thin and sharp blade, good for slipping through armour plates and allowed to easily stab and slash; another dagger would have a thicker edge, better for cutting arteries and slashing through heavy materials, such as leather; the last should be perfectly balanced, perfect for throwing. Done with armouring and arming himself, he trotted back to the entrance of his little hole in the ground, Blaze on his shoulder, and leaped up. Closing the hatch behind him with a swift kick, he left the old foundations of his old home before spending another twenty seconds searching his mind for the right place, he teleported to Fluttershy's home. Standing on the edge of the Everfree forest, he looked up at the dark foreboding forest; he'd been in there a few times in his life and over his life, he had never dreaded it more than now. It wasn't the forest itself; it was the prospect of finding the elements of harmony dead.

* * *

Hardhoof trotted into the ruined main hall of the old Everfree palace, he was immensely pleased with himself; he'd being planning something like this for years, somehow getting rid of Shining Armour was his ultimate goal in life and always would be until he finally managed to do so. His plan was as simple as it was elegant; he couldn't just have somepony kill the guard captain, the blue mane and tailed stallion was a very versatile fighter and there was always the chance of it being traced back to him, there was also the chance of him not being chosen for position as guard captain, he knew for a fact that Celestia was too foolish to not notice a perfect warrior when she saw it, so he had to take things into his own hooves. He couldn't kill Captain Armour, but he could cripple him; he'd first have to kill somepony close to him, and who better than his poor, defenceless little sister, Twilight Sparkle? He'd kill her, blame it on the assassin and be the brains behind said assassin's demise. Shining would be devastated and step down from rank of captain, going off to morn her loss with his beloved wife, while he'd be named a hero as the avenger of Twilight Sparkle and the elements of harmony and finally take his rightful place as guard captain. Simple. He approached the elements; all of them were chained to the wall and had gags over their mouths. Twilight, Rainbowdash and Applejack were glaring at him; Fluttershy was crying uncontrollably; that crazy pink bitch was watching him fearfully with wide eyes; and Rarity had her eyes squeezed shut and her hind legs pulled together. Some of the lads had being having trouble keeping their hooves off her and he couldn't blame them. He'd told them to get a hold of themselves until the assassin was dead. He planned to have a go on them when the deed was done, especially that Twilight; ha, taking her virginity as well as killing her. Serves Armour right for taking his place as captain. He looked at Sparkle, who was grumbling at him from behind her gag.

"Something to say" he asked, mock pleasantries in his voice, as he removed the gag from her maw.

"I said; do you have any idea what Blood Moon's gonna do to you once he gets here?" Hardhoof laughed uproariously before cramming the rag back into her mouth.

"I believe the words you looking for are 'do you know what I'm gonna do to Blood Moon when he gets here'? You don't seem to notice, do you whorse, that I have the whole of Ponyville's guards under my hoof. Your little assassin may be good, but I severely doubt he's that good" he told her. Twilight spat the rag out.

"Don't be so sure, he's gonna MURDER you when he find out what you've done." Her response was the lieutenant slapping her across the face.

"Shut up" he roared before he grabbed her by the throat. "I'll tell you what's gonna happen; I'm gonna kill Blood Moon and spit on his pathetic corpse, then me and all these guards are gonna take you plots and do what we like with 'em" he hissed. Every mare that was shackled to the wall gasped. "Now, be good little prisoners and be quiet, and maybe I'll have the guys put on a condom." Behind him, some of the guards chuckled. The mares swallowed. "Now then, Ironshield" he called out, prompting an iron grey Pegasus to trot up to him.

"Yes sir" he responded.

"Have you seen Steelblade anywhere?" The Pegasus grunt shook his head.

"No sir, not since we nabbed the yellow one" he replied, nodding at the weeping Fluttershy. Hardhoof growled.

"Well, keep an eye out" he ordered. The Pegasus nodded and turned away and stepped into the single intact chamber he had named his chambers. He hated waiting, he'd pull one of the mares in here to keep him occupied but he didn't want to be caught at a bad moment when the assassin finally arrived. He sat at a table he'd had his guards bring in and put his head on the table as he waited. He dreamed of what life would be like when he was finally made Capitan; he'd had his eye on Luna for a while, Armour had married Cadence and been named a prince, he wondered if he could catch her eye when he was placed on the guard Capitan podium and marry her. He smirked when he thought of tapping that flank. Hardhoof leaned against the wall the table was pushed against and closed his eyes as he thought of what great things the future held for him.

* * *

He couldn't help but smirk. Blood Moon clung to the shadows like the master he was, watching the guards trot to and fro, here and there, none of them spotting him. He'd already sent Hunter away, instructing him to fetch Sand Stalker and bring him here. He had to admit though; he was impressed by the whole scene.

The Everfree palace was in ruin, but with the military presents you could be forgiven for thinking it was still occupied; at least twenty guards patrolled the grounds, which confused the assassin to no end, he'd always thought that Ponyville was home to no more than ten guards, he presumed some of these guards weren't guards and just stallions in gold armour; he couldn't see any tell-tale silver in guards armour, revealing the lieutenant to him. A Pegasus guard, iron grey fur and mud brown mane and tail, trotted out and took to looking around himself. Blood Moon decided to get this show on the road. He waited for the perfect time, when no other guards were around, and stepped from the tree line. Credit where it's due, the guard spotted him right away, little good it did when he found the assassin's rope around his neck, choking him to death.

Two more guards appeared when the Pegasus fell to the ground, his face blue, and watched as the hooded stallion whipped the blade of his dart into the left-hoof guard and pull him off his hooves. The second was taken by a sharp _snap _as the hoof-bow fired and embedded a bolt deep into his eye. He let loose a guttural scream before he died. More guards galloped for the clearing in front of the palace, the first to spot the assassin, reloading his bow, was an earth pony who galloped for him, only to be met with him spinning past him and taking his head off with a graceful swing of his blade. Blood Moon stopped his rotation; both blades out, and looked at the small gathering of guards. He grinned darkly.

"Let's dance." Four guards rushed him, all with a battle cry erupting from their maws; Blood moon advanced in return, he span and stabbed his blade into one's chest whipping it out and using it to block a strike heading his way, then stabbing the other through his attacker's throat. The next was killed by three throwing knives that found their way into his face. The last, a unicorn, drew a sword and advanced more cautiously; when they met, the guard swiped at the assassin who flashed out of the way and appeared above him, dropping onto him and slipping both blades into his neck. A few magical bolts flew past him; Blood Moon spun around, still on the dead unicorn, and spotted a firing line of unicorns. He hopped off the corpse, lifting it with his magic and cantering towards them, using it as a meat shield; throwing the body at the gathering of guards, he caught a break in their assault and whipped his rope dart out and wrapped it around the right most guard's neck; the next to fall had charged him, only to find a small axe lodged in his head; finally, the last was ended by a few swift movements of the assassin's left hoof, finding a coil of fishing wire about his fore-hooves that tugged his legs out of socket before a bolt found its way into his throat.

Moving through the rest of the clearing, he found his way to the bottom of the stairs that lead to the main hall of the palace. When he was about to begin climbing them, a group of five guards leapt out of the surrounding bushes in an attempt to ambush him. They gave him no pause for thought; instead the all drew weapons and charged spells. A unicorn wielding a short sword moved with an unarmed earth pony; the unicorn stabbed his blade at the assassin, who parried the strike and spun past him, stabbing his other weapon into the unicorn's jugular before putting his hoof to the earth pony's neck and shot a bolt through his neck and into the eye of another. Another guard entered the fray, joining the two remaining from the ambush; Blood Moon reached below his cape and pulled out a smoke pellet, throwing it to the ground and letting it fill the area with thick black smog; two of the guards, foolishly, yelped in surprise allowing the assassin to pin down their locations. Heading forwards, he swung his weapons in a wide arc, taking two heads in one attack. Trotting forth, he found his way out of the smoke screen and spotted another guard lingering on the edge, leaning on a tree and trying to catch his breath. A snapped neck later, and the assassin was on his way again, reloading as he went. At the entrance to the palace, four more guards stood; the all brandished a weapon of some sort. As the assassin approached, he launched a bolt into one, catching him off guard the rest looked at their fallen comrade and charged furiously; the first two lunged and found themselves impaled on the assassin's blades, he let them slip off by tilting them to the side and marched for the others, a brief confrontation later and one had his head a few meters away and the other was eating his own intestines.

The dark, eerily calm, stallion trotted into the main hall of the Everfree palace. All six of the elements of harmony were chained to the far wall, all looking at him with fearful relief in their expressions. The assassin trotted into the hall, before he heard the doors shutting behind him. Turning, he saw a pair of guards trotting forwards, turning back, he saw four more guards trotting forwards. The one in the middle caught his eye; he wore gold armour with silver inlays. The pony, who Blood Moon could only guess was Hardhoof, trotted forwards with a sneer on his face that the assassin desperately wanted to rip off.

"Well, well, well. Look what's gone and trotted into the dragon's den" Hardhoof taunts.

"Yeah, the dragon slayer" Blood Moon retorts. Hardhoof snarled.

"Mind your tongue. You'd do well to watch your mouth around your-" he didn't finish, instead he was cut off by Blood Moon spinning around and firing his hoof-bow into one of the guard's throat, and stabbing his dart into the other's chest and pulling him over. Holding his captive as a shield as he reloaded, he watched Hardhoof bristle.

"Y'know, ponies like you really annoy me" the assassin told Hardhoof as he shadow stretched over to the shade of the palace. "You see yourself as above other ponies, and with no real grounds or proof. I mean, you're probably feeling pretty confident about this, what with your bodyguards lingering behind you" he said, as three of his shadow serpents wrapped themselves around the necks of the grunts, silently.

"As well I should be, you're stood here at death's door and you act so big. HA, I'm gonna kill you, then spit on your corpse and offer it to Celestia" he sneered. The assassin snapped his captive's neck and grinned.

"Oh yeah, you and what army?" Hardhoof stiffened at the question, turning around to see he was completely alone. "Now then" the assassin growled as he advanced "no more guards, no more distractions. Just you and me." He stopped a few meters away from the lieutenant. Hardhoof growled and drew his sword.

"Have at you" he roared as he lunged. Blood moon took the stab on his left blade, parrying the strike off to the side, Hardhoof replied by bringing his sword around and over, only to be blocked by the assassin's crossed blades. The dark stallion socked the guard in the jaw, hard, and watched him stumble away, before he whipped out his dart and snagged the guard's leg, wrapping it around his hoof.

"GET OVER HERE" he roared as he yanked the rope his way. Hardhoof managed to struggle free of the rope and stand again, but not before the assassin had taken his tail, reducing it to a small, shaved stub. Hardhoof swung his blade viciously, a loud _clang _echoing through the room as it met both of the assassin's blades. Using the momentum to spin and fire his hoof-bow at Hardhoof, who managed to erect a magical barrier to block it, the two then lunged again, blades clashing, sparks flying and their weapons never stopping. Hoof swiped his blade upwards, the assassin deflecting it on his left and stabbing with his right, the guard dodged left and cracked Blood moon in the face with his left fore-hoof, staggering the assassin for a second. Hardhoof attempted to bring his weapon down on the assassin's head, who took it on both blades before countering by slamming his head into Hardhoof's muzzle. Blood thrust both weapons, Hardhoof leaping out of the way, and reaching beneath his cape and removing one of the tomahawks there, hacking it into Hoof's armour and severing one of the buckles, causing one of the plates to come free. Hardhoof aimed his weapon for the assassin's axe, knocking it from his grip, spinning and slashing at his neck; Blood Moon ducked out of the way and rolled out of the melee. He pulled a dagger from its sheath, the thick blade, and pounced, ramming the weapon, through the leather and into Hardhoof's side. The guard growled in pain, backing off. He pulled the weapon from his side and tossed it away.

"You're not bad, I'll give you that" he growled out. The assassin pressed on his assault, slashing at his opponent's neck.

"And you are a pathetic fighter" he answered. He slashed and stabbed, parried and countered, advanced and dodged, all the while he grinned defiantly. This seemed to annoy Hardhoof to no end, knowing he wasn't intimidating him at all. Hardhoof brought his blade down, execution style, and Blood Moon rolled out of the way, landing in a combat crouch and slicing his blade up the same unprotected side. Hardhoof sliced at the assassin, who blocked and dodged away. When he looked up again, Hardhoof wasn't there. A single thought came into his mind.

'_Teleport.'_

He obeyed, flashing away from his position and finding himself above the battlefield. He hung onto the roof by gripping some of the cracks in the celling. Blood Moon noticed he had left his swords below. He looked down to see Hardhoof trotting around, searching for him. The assassin smirked letting go of the celling with one hoof and unsheathing one of his daggers. He dropped noiselessly. He was going to land on the guard and ram his blade into his neck from above. When he got within a single meter, Hardhoof reached up with his fore-hooves and grabbed the assassin, throwing him to the floor. He put his hoof on his chest and sneered at him.

"You assassins are all too predictable" he taunted before he stabbed the assassin through the throat.


	16. Consequences

Chapter sixteen: Consequences

Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbowdash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie could do nothing but watch as the blade plunged into the assassin's throat. There was a point, when time seemed to pause after the deed was done and none of them could believe what had just happened, not even Hardhoof. After he had come down from his adrenalin high, he blinked a few times at the body below him; he was half sure it would wake up again when he removed the blade. Standing up off of him, he pulled the weapon out, still dripping with blood; he glanced at the blade, the blade he'd used to kill Blood Moon. He actually chuckled at that: HE'D killed Blood Moon, the hunter, the assassin who could not be killed, caught or seen. His few chuckles turned into a laugh, which turned into him howling like a mad stallion. He'd done it; he killed Blood Moon, the stallion who was rumoured to be immortal, who was supposed to have walked the plains of Tartarus. He started laughing uproariously, stabbing his blade into the dead assassin repeatedly, and chanting 'I DID IT' over and over. Twilight, still shackled to the wall, watched with wide and wet eyes; she's just seen Blood Moon die; she wondered where he was right now, if he was happy to be finally dead or if he was standing in a void going 'well, that didn't go well.' He probably would do something like that, he took everything else like that, without a care in the world; fighting, training, dancing the way he used to flirt with her so blatantly. The mare welled up as the last few things crossed her mind; a few of her stifled sobs caught the attention of Hardhoof, who was still decimating Blood Moon's corpse. He turned to her with an overly happy smile on his face.

"Something the matter Miss Sparkle" he asked as he trotted over. He got in her face, Twilight turning her head away. "Seems you were wrong, I'm the one murdering him, aren't I? Aren't I, huh, ANSWER ME" he roared "tell me what I did, you whorse!" Twilight sniffled a few times, but before she could answer, another spoke.

"I'll tell you what you did" a distant voice said. The mares and stallion turned to see a stallion standing in the doorway of the palace; he was nothing but a silhouette against the glare of the afternoon sun that managed to find its way into the Everfree palace. He walked in further, giving the occupancy a better view of him; he had mustard fur, wore a beanie and eye-patch and wielded a curved blade, a scimitar, in his hoof. On his shoulder sat a phoenix, who flew to the motionless body of Blood Moon upon sight of it, nudging it with his head and cooing softly at the corpse. "You just made a _very, bad, decision!" _He trotted forth, approaching the guard with his blade slung over his shoulder. Hardhoof started laughing.

"You really think you have a chance against me? REALLY? I just killed Blood Moon, _the hunter. _You don't stand a chance." Sand Stalker stopped a few meters away from Hardhoof.

"Why is it you assume that with killing a foe, you take their skills?" Hardhoof, growled and lunged for the merc, who took to the air and took the stab on the edge of his blade, spinning past his opponent and slashing at his neck, taking most of Hardhoof's mane. "Pathetic" Sand Stalker growled. The guard span with his blade, aiming it at the merc who blocked, moved in and took the weapon by the hilt and pulled it away from the merc. "How you lasted even four minutes against Blood Moon, I'll never know."

"Maybe because he didn't hide in the air like a coward. Come down here and fight like a stallion."

"Why don't you come up here and fight like a Pegasus?" Hardhoof growled again and trotted over to Blood Moon's body, focusing his magic on one of the fallen weapons. As he attempted to pick it up, Hunter screeched and dived at him, going for his face and eyes. After shouting a few indecencies, he batted the bird away and raised the dead assassin's weapon. As he did, he heard the sound of hooves and the clattering of metal on the ground coming from behind him.

"Put that weapon down" the Pegasus ordered, pure hatred in his voice "we will fight, but you will not have the honour of wielding that blade." Hardhoof snorted, tossing the weapon away and picking up his own. He charged and lunged, the pair's weapons clashing and locking.

"No matter. I don't care what I kill you with, just as long as you-" he was cut off when he felt a sharp burning in his unprotected side, throwing him of balance. He looked up to see Twilight, with new determination in her eyes, with her horn aglow. "Whorse" he growled. He apparently forgot he was facing off the Arabian and trotted over to her. Sand Stalker lunged and attempted to take his head with one, vicious swing of his blade; Hardhoof managed to glance over in time, and defend against the blow at the last second sending the loud sound of clashing metal reverberating through the air like rolling thunder. As the fight went on, Twilight continued firing from her position, trying to hit the guard. She mostly missed, but a few of her bolts hit his unarmoured side, causing him to throw out more curses. Hunter also kept to the fray; he would stay to the air and swoop down at Hardhoof in an attempt to rip out one of his eyes or maybe take off those lips that he hated to see sneering. The bird of fire dived, ripping his talons against Hardhoof's skull, taking a big chunk of flesh and digging into the bone. Hoof roared in pain, slashing his sword at the bird, trying to take one of its wings off in his rage, and forgetting his opponent.

Taking advantage of the distraction, the merc hacked at the guard savagely, trying to take off his head again, Hardhoof barely managing to dodge in time and make the strike non-lethal. As it is, Sand had still managed to take his left eye. He screamed and staggered away, tripping over the body of Blood Moon and landing on his back, Hunter dived for the fallen guard and ripped at his face, making a mess of him, talons digging into him and ripping out the remainder of his left eye. He rolled away and galloped away from the enraged bird, picking up his blade and attempting to take the bird down with it, until another bolt from Twilight knocked him off his hooves. Sand Stalker appeared at his side, the two slashed at once, their blades clanging off each other, rebounding at getting knocked away from each other before both went at it again; Sand never staying in the same place for more than a second until he moved again and took Hardhoof from his blindside, leaving nicks and cuts on his armour and shallow slashes in his flesh. Stalker's raw speed, agility and ability to fly was making it impossible for Hardhoof to hit him, resorting to swinging his weapon around furiously and blindly. Hunter, unwilling to sit by and watch, would attack Hoof from above when occupied with Sand Stalker, while Twilight would fire a bolt of magic from the side, never giving him a moment to think or rest. The three of them kept at Hardhoof, giving him very little to no chance at fighting back when he was too busy dodging Twilight's attacks, keeping an eye out for Hunter and having to block all of Sand Stalker's constant barrage of slashes, stabs and attempts to disarm him.

He caught a break when Hunter and Twilight paused in their attacks at the same time and he managed to slip his blade below and around Sand Stalker's and whip it from his grip; he used the opening to spin and buck the mustard stallion over to the dead body in the room, with the intent to watch him fall and impale him in the same way when he was on his back. He watched as the mercenary stumbled back and waited form him to fall over the body.

He didn't.

Instead he remained standing and glaring at the guard lieutenant. He looked down and picked up one of the blades at his hooves, throwing it at Hardhoof, who managed to duck out of the way and look up in time to see Sand Stalker lung at him, the assassin's other sword in hoof and prepared to stab it through his face. The blades clashed and sparks flew off them, the pair of them constantly moving around each other. Sand Stalker was better accustomed to his scimitar, a longer blade with more weight to it; he could move this weapon much faster than his usual blade, allowing him to strike with more speed behind each one and with smaller intervals but he couldn't get enough momentum going to even try to break through Hardhoof's defence. The guard swung his blade around, smacking Stalker's weapon from his hoof; not possible if he'd being using his scimitar with the extra weight. Hardhoof pushed the merc away from him with all his might before kicking away the assassin's blade and scimitar. Standing over the merc, sword aimed at his throat, he sneered at him once again.

"You know, it's funny actually; to know that you thought you could kill me." Sand stalker just spat in his face, Hardhoof responding by slowly wiping it off before slamming his hoof into the elderly merc's jaw. "You know Dash's dad, right?" The merc narrowed his eyes at the guard, who turned his gaze back to said cyan blue furred mare, still shackled to the wall and watching with fear in her eye at the prospect of seeing both Blood Moon and the uncle she never had the chance to patch things over with die. "I think I'll have her first" he spat. That one, truly enraged the Pegasus; he slammed his forehead into the guard's face and rolled him over, straddling him and beating him senseless.

"You…Killed…Blood Moon" he told him, each pause filled with another strike. "You…tried…to kill…me. But…what I…will…not…stand for…is…you…even…THINKING…about…trying…to touch…my…NIECE!" The guard, reduced to little more than a beaten and bleeding pulp, caught the merc's hoof in his own as he tried to hit him again, rolled over him and taking his blade in his hoof.

"I'm gonna have fun _bucking _her" he hissed. Sand Stalker snarled at his foe as he raised his sword. He then frowned for a second until his eyes widened in shock. The guard then felt a slight pressure on his back as he was pushed forwards a little. He frowned as he felt numbness in his neck, as well as a strange coppery tang to his breath and a weird liquid sensation, as though something like a drink was running down his throat. He looked down to see a pair of blades, familiar blades, protruding through his throat. He then figured out what had happened; he'd been stabbed from behind. He remained remarkably passive about this until he heard a strangely familiar dark voice from behind him.

"We're all taught three things as foals: don't run with scissors, don't play with fire and never, ever, try to kill an immortal" the assassin told him, as he rounded into Hardhoof's view, a grin on his face. The lieutenant tried to speak, to say something, anything, but the hooded stallion had severed his vocal cords. Still with that unbearable smile on his face, the stallion reached up and pulled his hood off. "Did you really think my legacy is 'never seen, caught or killed' because it sounds nice" Blood Moon asked. The assassin's grin turned dark. "Look at you, thinking you managed to kill me. Thinking you beat me in open combat. Do you know how many times I could have cut off any number of limbs in that fight?" Hardhoof kept watching with wide eyes. "Sixty-four. Now, I know what you're thinking; 'but I managed to kill you, my blade was in your throat.' And it was, but only because I allowed it, and before you start doubting, think about it; we're in a palace of shadows, I could have burned you alive, ripped you apart or have slit you throat open without you even seeing me. The only reason you lasted more than a _second, _is because I just wanted your death, to be all the more sweet for me and be that much more of a kick in the guts for you." Hardhoof fell to his back, still struggling to speak; blood began pouring from him in earnest as he began panicking, noticing the assassin advancing on him, the most terrifying glare on his face he'd ever seen. He grabbed the guard by what was left of his mane and hauled him up to eye level. "You… pitiful… pathetic… dirt eating… piece of trash, son of a whorse" he rumbled, every insult punctuated with a swift strike in the gut, breaking more and more of his ribs. He dragged the guard over to the elements of harmony and threw him down before them, grabbing his chin and forcing his gaze on them. "Do you have any idea, of what you could have done, if you'd killed them? No, you don't, do you. All's you cared about was yourself" he hissed, before slamming his face into the ground. "Normally, I would have you apologise, but seeing as my swords are pushed through you gullet and voice box at the moment, I think I'll skip that part and get right to the _brutal death" _he snarled. With a growl, he them threw him in Sand Stalker's direction before following him over and kicking him the rest of the way. "Well Sand, what do you think we should with him" Blood moon asks when he got him the rest of the way via some nasty burses and broken ribs. Hunter landed on the assassin's shoulder, a glare in his eye aimed at the guard. Hardhoof was glancing between the mercenary and assassin with fear in his eyes. "Cut him up and feed him to some Timbers?"

"Nah, I say we have those serpents of yours rip him apart" the elderly merc suggests. Blood Moon hummed in thought.

"Tie him over a bamboo shoot and leave him to it?"

"String him up by his guts and leave him to hang?"

"Rip his entrails out with the serpents, tie him down by his guts over a bamboo shoot, cut off his legs and leave them as bait while, drawing in some Timberwolves to him eat what's left of him." The guard choked on his blood a little and the merc laughed at the assassin's compromise, while said assassin grinned and Hunter gave a pleased cry. "I think he likes that idea" he said as he dragged him outside. The guard struggled, abruptly enraging the assassin who seemed to lose it for a second and grab hold of the guard's horn. He glared for a second before he put an insurmountable amount of pressure on it and snapped it off. Even without his vocal cords, Hardhoof could scream and scream he did; the unicorn horn may be capable of feeling immense pleasure but it is also capable of being the cause of the greatest amount of pain a unicorn can feel, while snapping it off would cause more pain feasible of being felt by any other race being felt by the unicorn. The assassin then spun the horn in his hoof and stabbed the golden horn into Hardhoof's jugular, not killing him but coming close. A few minutes after he'd dragged him outside, those few minutes filled will some more screams and the sounds of distant barking; he came back, no Hardhoof in tow, blades back in their sheaths and a few extra smatterings of blood on his robes and face. "Don't take the girls around the side of the palace" he muttered to the merc. Sand Stalker smirked.

The two then trotted over to the mares, Blood Moon glancing over them all as he went. The two then worked the shackles holding them in place, five minutes later, and they were all down. The mares picked themselves up, Sand Stalker holding Rainbowdash in a hug neither had any intentions of ending and Blood Moon doing a surprisingly good job of holding Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Twilight at once, stroking their manes and shushing them all. All of them, even the tough Applejack, had tears in their eyes and were sniffling into the ex-foalsitter's hold. Fluttershy, as was to be expected, seemed worse for the whole ordeal but going by the standards of the rest of the mares in the scene, Blood Moon feared for her mentality; Hunter fluttered over to her and sat next to her, nuzzling her head with his own. She sniffled a few times but, somehow, managed to perk up at the company of an animal, petting the phoenix's head softly. It took fifteen whole minuets to calm and sooth the mares to a degree they could be properly moved to more pleasant surroundings. The mares were in no physical, or mental for a few of them, condition to move quickly or without help; Sand Stalker put Rainbowdash under his wing and Pinkie Pie on his back; while Hunter sat on Fluttershy's shoulder, giving her reason to persevere and push on. Applejack stood by herself, insisting to the dark stallion she was fine and providing her frame as a leaning post for Rarity, who seemed grateful for the gesture. Twilight managed to raise herself, but didn't get far until she fell onto Blood Moon who was there in an instant. Twilight looked up at the stallion who had caught her before she fell, who had rescued her when she was most vulnerable. She wrapped her fore-hooves around the assassin's neck and clamped her lips to his; there was no real thought or effort put behind it, no tongue or moaning involved, just a simple reassurance that she was no longer in danger. If anything, it had more feeling and emotion than any other kiss the two had shared to date, given the circumstances. She disengaged the kiss after a few seconds and leaned back.

"Blood Moon" she murmured. The assassin grunted his listening. Twilight leaned back onto her hooves with a pleasant smile on her face, raised her hoof and slapped him across the face and lunged at him, pushing him onto his back and landing on his front, beating weakly as tears fell off her face. "Don't you ever scare me like that again" she wept as she tapped his chest with her hooves valiantly. "I thought you were dead, you good for nothing assassin" she scolded as she continued to beat him. She eventually gave up with her pathetic attempts to hurt him and just fell onto him sobbing into his chest. He put his hooves over back and holds her closer to him.

"I'm sorry Twilight, truly I am, and I hate to break it to you but…I was dead" he admitted. Twilight put her fore-hooves both side of his head and leaned up.

"WHAT" she demanded, fear in her eyes. Blood Moon shrugged, Twilight responding by shaking her head and stomping her hoof on the ground besides his head. "No" she told him angrily, but with no less relief in her tone "no, I'm not letting you act so laid back about this! You were dead and I saw you die!" She put her head to his chest, listening to his heartbeat, as if to make sure he was truly alive. She put her forehead to his chest, rolling it to side to side. "I thought I'd lost you" she told him as she raised herself and looked in his eyes. As she'd being speaking, the assassin had been listening to her rants with a dutiful open ear; none had ever apposed his laid back attitude so openly, but she'd told him it actually put her in distress. Then there was what she'd finished with 'I thought I'd lost you.' Why would she care if he left her life, surely she didn't care about him so much, she'd only just met him-

'_Ah, to __Tartarus with it.'_

He reached up and put his hoof around the back of her head, she had been closing her eyes in an attempt to curb her tears but opened them again when she felt his hoof on her. He looked her in the eye for a single second before he pulled her face to his, pushing their lips together again; he held her in place and hugged her tightly, looking like he had the intent of keeping her slim frame in his grip until her count of days were up. He didn't stop for one long minute, he held her with his lips connected to hers; as before, no extra move was made from either party, it was a simple kiss and nothing more. In act, that is. For the two holding each other, it was the two telling each other they were there; that she was there and safe, and that he was there for her, and always would be.

"Hey, you two. As heart-warming as this little scene is, I'd rather not leave you here by yourselves to get busy when Timberwolves will be here within the hour" Sand Stalker calls over. Twilight suddenly remembered she was in the company of others and looked up to see her friends watching the two with some varied reactions; Rarity and Applejack were watching with a look of pride on their faces, Rarity's a slight wearier than Applejack's; Pinkie Pie was asleep; Fluttershy had a pink blush on her face, complemented by a kind smile, her face partially hidden by her mane; and Rainbowdash had a kind smile on her face also, but beyond that looked ready to fall asleep under Sand Stalker's wing. Blood Moon lifted Twilight off of him with his magic and put her on her hooves, albeit she was still shaky when stood up.

"Yeah, let's get out of here. Fluttershy, you okay with us taking you all to your place?" She nodded weakly in response. The assassin nodded appreciatively. "Thanks, alright ponies, let's move." And they did; Blood Moon leading the way, Twilight using him as a crutch; Applejack and Rarity following at a short distance behind; Fluttershy and Hunter came up behind them, the bird nuzzling the ever strong-willed Fluttershy; and Sand Stalker, Rainbowdash and Pinkie Pie brought up the rear. After a while of trotting, occasionally pausing to make sure they were all present, they arrived at Fluttershy's home. The merc approached Blood Moon, stood next to him and looked at the small cottage.

"Why Fluttershy's house? Rarity's or Twilight's would be better; they're bigger and closer to everything in town." Blood Moon looked over at the merc.

"I'm not making these girls walk any further than they have to, and it'll put fear into the residents of Ponyville to see them like this and probably spread a few rumours we don't need while we're at it" he explained. The mustard stallion hummed his agreement but still sounded unsure.

"It'll be a little cramped" he murmured. The assassin nodded.

"Exactly, these mares need to be kept close together; they need each other after all that." Sand Stalker nodded at that, understanding what Blood Moon was getting at. The merc leaned in with a grin on his face.

"Although, I think Twilight wants to be with only one pony in particular at this point" he says lowly, the same grin still on his face.

"Right here" said unicorn calls over.

"Now now children, play nicely. C'mon Sand, let's get these girls indoors." The pair of stallions did as he advised, carrying, guiding and letting the mares lean on them as they made their way to Fluttershy's cottage. The assassin pushed the still unlocked door open to reveal a bunch of animals, all of which appeared to be waiting anxiously for something, most likely Fluttershy. When she crossed over the fresh hold, after the merc and assassin but before Applejack and Rarity, she was immediately swarmed by her animal friends. They gathered around her, making their respective sounds to ask her questions nopony else could understand. Blood Moon sat Twilight on a nearby couch, Applejack and Rarity sitting next to her, while Pinkie Pie, who had awoken, sat with her back lent against the same seat and Rainbowdash did the same. Fluttershy eventually managed to calm down all the critters before she seemed to fall unconscious from sheer exhaustion. A bear held out his arms and caught her in his claws gently as she was about to hit the ground. Said bear then looked at the assassin unsurely, most likely debating whether or not to trust the killer he had feared a few hours earlier, before nodding at him in way of showing his fidelity. Blood Moon nodded in return; pulled of his robes, armour and weapons and set them on a hook nearby; and turned to the rest of the gathered critters.

"All right, let's get one thing out of the way; you don't like me and I don't like you, but we're gonna have to put our differences behind us and pull together if we want to properly look after Fluttershy and her friends. Are you with me?" The group of animals looked between each other unsurely, nervously and, decidedly, unwilling to help the assassin. It looked like they were about to do that freaky head shaking in unison thing, when a single black mouse stood in front of them, facing the critters, and started squeaking at them; he seemed to have them captivated and listening to him, gesturing at the unconscious Fluttershy, who was being watched over by Rainbowdash, and pointing at the assassin behind him. Some of the other mice squeaked back and the black mouse face-pawed; he scuttled around the assassin, leapt onto his back and then clambered onto the amused assassin's head before he started with his, what the killer suspected to be, uplifting speech. Once the mouse was done with his squeaking, the critters all seemed to feel much better about helping out the dark stallion. The mouse leaned over the assassin's brow as he looked up at the small rodent and saw him put the thumb of his paw up in a 'you're good to go' kind of way. "Ok, now that we're all friends we should get this show on the road, but before we do, allow me to inform you that all complaints should be made to the proper authorities, in this case, the complaints desk" he told the critters, nodding his head in Sand Stalker's direction, who grinned menacingly. "Job one: getting these girls upstairs and comfortable. You" he pointed at the bear holding Fluttershy, who stood up much straighter when he was addressed "take Fluttershy and anypony else who can't walk up stairs." The bear nodded and moved over to the couch, lifting Rarity and Pinkie Pie in his large arms and carrying them upstairs, the rest of the mares following in his wake. He turned to the bunnies. "You lot" the rabbits all stood up straight on their hind legs, one of them wearing a green military helmet. "I want you to take the perimeter, anything that doesn't belong or not smell right to you; you come to me or Sand Stalker." They all nodded, the one in the helmet saluting, and hopped off.

"What's with the perimeter" the merc asked. Blood Moon turned to him.

"There's bound to be some guards snooping around sooner or later, I want to know about them before they know about us." The mustard stallion put his hoof to his chin in though.

"Do you want me to head back to Ponyville and keep an eye out for any out of place guards?" The dark stallion shook his head.

"No, I need you here. You have a sharp eye and I need you keeping watch for anything we don't like, I also need you here if any guards decide to make any hostile moves against us. That…and I think Rainbow needs the company." As they were speaking, the bear had come back down stairs from putting the mares up there. Blood Moon looked between the beast and the rest of the critters he hadn't given jobs to yet and formed a plan. "Alright, mice" they stood on their hind legs dutifully "you're my right-hoof critters, anything I need and you're my first reference." They all nodded at once. The stallion then looked around. "Hey where's that black mouse?" Said mouse then appeared at the top of his vision, having wrapped his tail around Blood Moon's horn and hanging off of it causing the killer to grin at the scene. "You stay with me, when I need the mice to do something, I'll tell you and you'll go find the rest of the mice and relay the orders." The inverted mouse saluted and clambered back to his perch atop the assassin's head. He turned to the rest of the awaiting critters. "The rest of you will go about your business and wait for instructions." They nodded their understanding and retired to their respective holes in the wall as Blood Moon turned back to the bear. "You stay down here and wait for me." The bear nodded and sat on its rear end with a small 'thud'. The assassin then looked at Sand Stalker and gestured up the stairs, the merc nodded and followed him upstairs. Up there, they found the elements of harmony sat on Fluttershy's bed, some more conscious than others and Hunter perched on one of the bedposts holding up the headboard. "You all alright" he asked. They looked up with relief in their expression.

"We're all fine, sugarcube, jus' relieved ta be outta that palace" Applejack answers for them, the rest of the mares nodding in agreement. The assassin nodded before looking around the small room and frowning.

"You were right Sand; this place is a little cramped." He glanced at Fluttershy with a hasty "no offence." All the mares in the room, even Fluttershy, looked around the room; it was, admittedly, a bit cosy. The room was only big enough and furnished for one or two ponies, or three fillies. It was also the fact that Fluttershy's bed was only made for the same amount of occupants, so the six mares sat upon it gave each other very little room for getting comfy. The assassin sighed. "D'you want me to fetch some more furnisher" he asked.

"Oh, we couldn't ask you to do that" Fluttershy told him. Blood moon waved a hoof to stop her.

"Nonsense, it's clear you all need some space to relax. Tell you what; I'll go out and bring in some more appropriate sleeping arrangements." Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" The assassin shrugged.

"I'll take the bear and swing around yours and Applejack's place and nab the beds, I'll be in and out faster than anypony knows I'm there" he told her. He was about to trot out of the room when Twilight stopped him.

"Blood Moon, if you're going to be at the library, could you bring Spike with you? Celestia knows he'll be worried sick about me." The assassin nodded. He went to turn back when he was stopped again, this time by the sound of Applejack gasping. He sighed and turned back.

"Something the matter, Applejack?" The farmhoof took to looking sheepish.

"I-it's jus', ah was meant tah be pickin' up Applebloom an' the other girls from school tahday" she told him. Blood Moon repressed another sigh.

"I'll pick 'em up on the way" he says as he turns away. Rainbowdash gives a small 'ummmmm'. "Yes, mi' lady" he asked, in a mocking butler fashion, swinging back to the mares.

"Um, could-could you pick up a few Daring Do books for me? I-I wouldn't ask, but I'll probably get pretty bored with nothing to do here." The assassin sighed with a grin on his face, pulling out a small notepad and pencil from the sleeve above his medical supplies with his magic and put the pencil to a clean page.

"Ok, let's see; pick up beds, Spike and Daring Do books and deliver to Fluttershy's; Pick up Applebloom-I take it you want me to pick up Sweetie-Belle too?" Rarity nodded.

"Don't forget Scootaloo" Rainbowdash said. The assassin nodded and scribbled it down.

"Wouldn't dream of it" he muttered. "Now, since I'm not letting any of you out of Fluttershy's place until I know why the guards were on your tail, is there anything else I need to grab while I'm out?" Sand Stalker spoke up.

"Might I suggest some strong cider to take the edge off of some of the bumps they took?" Blood Moon looked up to see some of the mares rub their heads where they'd been hit by Hardhoof. He nodded and scribbled it down on his pad.

"Ya'll can probably find some nice cider in the barn" Applejack told the dark stallion who nodded and made a note of it.

"Anything else? Rarity?" The mare put to hoof to her chin in though.

"Well" she started hesitantly "i-if you wouldn't mind, could you please bring me some needles, thread and your, umm, vest and other clothes. If you don't mind, I'd like to make some repairs to it. J-just to keep me occupied" she insisted. The assassin smirked and jotted it down. He turned his gaze to Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie, you need anything from home?" She shook her head.

"No thanks, just as long as I'm with my friends here, it's all I need" she told him as her fore-legs wrapped around her friends and pulled them in for a big group hug. The assassin grinned as he turned to Applejack.

"Nah thanks, sugarcube, jus' bring Applebloom and I'll be right as rain with mah friends here." Blood Moon, for the last time, nodded and took a last second pause before he turned and left the mares to themselves, Sand Stalker following him.

"Alright, I'm gonna go out and gather" he took another look at the list he had made "all this." Sand Stalker caught his tone of voice and grinned.

"The things we do, huh?" Blood Moon grunted and shrugged.

"I used to be a foal sitter, waiting hoof and tail on mares and fillies is something I'm used to. Besides, well it's already been said, after what they've been through, I'd say they need some R and R." The merc nodded.

"Alright, what are we getting first?" The assassin shook his head.

"No, what am I getting first. You should stay here and make sure nothing happens to the girls" Blood Moon told him "don't worry about any heavy lifting, bear will help me with that" he said, nodding to the grizzly sat in the corner, who put his claws to his fore-head in a small salute.

"What about him" the mercenary asked with an amused grin on his face pointing above the assassin's head. Blood Moon looked up to see the black mouse still on his head; he'd forgotten the cute, little guy was there. The assassin shrugged.

"If he's comfy there, I won't move him" he said "besides, I need to keep him with me in case I need to call upon the mice" he told him, frowning towards the end. "Never thought I'd say that" he mumbled. He shrugged and trotted to the bear. "You're with me; we're grabbing beds, cider, clothes and a dragon." The grizzly frowned at him as the assassin trotted closer to him and put his hoof on his arm. "Alright, when we get there, you've gotta be quiet. First thing we're grabbing is bed A and a few barrels of cider." The bear sill seemed unsure but nodded either way.

The stallion waited a single second before his horn flashed and they appeared at Applejack's barn, the bear looking like he was about to throw up. The assassin motioned for him to stay low, the bear following his orders by getting down on all fours and following after him. Blood Moon pushed open the large red barn door, revealing a few crates and bales of hay, he looked around and saw a small mountain of wooden barrels, other to which he trotted over and peered into a few upright barrels. He smelled around the rim of it and picked up the smell of bitter alcohol and sweet apples, thinking of Applejack as he picked up the latter. He motioned the bear over with his hoof and had him pick up a few barrels. Done with the cider, he teleported the two of them to the side of Applejack's small home. He told the bear to stay put with a few simple motions. Trotting in doors he looked around and found himself in the Apple's living room, a simple cottage job; friendly soothing colours and basic furniture scattered around, a nice place to be all and all. He trotted silently through the home; nopony seemed to be around, Big Macintosh was probably out in the orchard, bucking apples and Applebloom would be in school for a few more hours. The question of time came into the dark stallion's head and he looked at a clock hanging on the wall. Two in the afternoon. Discord's antlers, the day had gone by slowly; he'd woken up with Twilight, gone on a date with Feather, found himself a pet, visited his old home and gathered his old armour and weapons, died, rescued the elements of harmony with Sand Stalker, taken them to Fluttershy's and now he was breaking into Applejack's house to steal her bed. He'd gotten more done in one morning than he'd gotten done all day yesterday. The clearing of an elderly throat caught his attention, he'd gotten lost in his thought and, apparently, somepony had snuck up on him. He turned his gaze to the left to see an elderly mare; she had light lime green fur; a white and grey mane and tail, both kept in a bun; light orange eyes; and an apple pie as her cutie mark. The assassin smirked.

"Busted" he muttered.

"Hmm, yer say somethin' there young un'?" She took another look at him and frowned slightly. "Hm, you don't seem as young as yah look." The assassin froze. She had better insight than he'd first assumed. The mare turned back into the room she seen him from, the kitchen, and sat at the table. She had a cup of something hot in front of her and invited the stallion to sit with her. "Si' down there, mister. Ain't everyday ah git company." Cocking his head to the side, the assassin obliged and entered the kitchen, sitting at the same table. "Ya'll mus' be the same one Applejack was going on about the other day. She says a lot of things about you" she took a sip from her cup "not all good." Blood Moon smirked again.

"What kind of things" he asked. The mare shrugged at him and took another sip from her cup.

"Notin' interesting, 'sides, anythin' bad about you she seemed willing to look over" she looked at him from over her cup "there ain't many she'd do that for. She's a protective filly, that one, she must like you." Blood Moon shrugged.

"And I like her, she's a nice mare." The mare hummed in thought.

"Applejack did mention yer name, but mah memory ain't what it used to be. What'er yah called, sonny?"

"Blood Moon" he answered at once "you?"

"Blood Moon, eh? Fitting." The assassin smirked at her assessment. "Ah'm Granny Smith. Applejack, Big Macintosh and Applebloom's grandmother."

"So you're the one looking after them" the assassin observes. Smith gives a small laugh.

"Yup, that's me, I done looked afta the Apple family of Ponyville ever since…well, ah guess you know." Blood Moon closed his eyes as he remembered his conversation with Applejack and nodded.

"I do, she told me a little while back." Granny Smith took him by surprise when she smirked at him.

"She won't tell nopony about that unless she thinks she can trust him. Ah don't think nopony in Ponyville knows about what happened to her parents, asides mahself, yew an' the other Apple's. She mus' really like you." The stallion hummed in thought pausing in his conversation.

"What did you mean; I'm not as young as I look?" Granny Smith angled her head to the left; it kept going until the assassin noticed she was falling asleep. He slammed his hoof on the table to awaken her. "SMITH" he roared sharply.

"Hmm, wha' did yah say?" The assassin rolled his eyes and repeated the question. The mare hummed again and looked him over. "Ah may not be the sharpest knife in the block, but ah can see when somepony ain't what yew'd call 'average' when ah see dem. Yew an' ah both know ya'll ain't what either of us would call normal." Blood Moon grinned.

"Ya'll got me there partner" he admitted. Smith nodded a few times before she started coughing lightly.

"Listen here parndner, ah wouldn't normally ask anypony anything like this, but ya'll seem trustworthy and Applejack likes yew, so ah'm a give you the benefit of a doubt. Ah want ya'll ta look after Applejack and 'Bloom." The assassin narrowed his eyes in though. He didn't like where this was going.

"Of course, but why would I need to? You'll be here to do so, won't you?" Granny heard the doubt in his voice.

"Ahhh, ya'll know ah'm not gonna be here much longer. I know this, an' I've come to understand, it ain't somethin' ah can change." She tapped him on the chest. "Ah don't know how ya'll are different, but what ah do know is that yer ain't young but yah still look like yew are. Ah don't care if you're different, what I do care about what's in here" she put a hoof over his chest, where his heart would be. "And ah can tell yer not a bad stallion at heart." She sat back in her chair. "Prove me right, do an old lady one last favour, an' look after mah grandchildren." The stallion leaned back and took a breath through his nose.

"I-I'll see what I can do." Granny Smith shook her head.

"Nah, I don't want nah empty promises. I want you tah promise me, ya'll take care o' Applejack and Applebloom." The assassin sighed and bowed his head.

"You have my word" he promised. Granny Smith patted his head.

"An' don't go tellin' her nutin' neither, Celestia knows what she'll do if ya'll start goin' around sayin' ah'm gonna die soon." Blood Moon nodded. "There's a good stallion now ah'm gonna, gonna…" she slumped back into her chair and fell back to sleep. Blood Moon smirked and stood up, trotting up the stairs. He found Applejack's room and pushed the door open. He trotted over to her bed and lifted it with his magic, testing the weight. Not too heavy. He trotted over to the window and looked out, he put a hoof to his maw and whistled; the bear looked up and saw him leaning out of the window, said bear then stood and raised his arms awaiting the coming bed. Blood Moon stepped away from the window and lifted it with his magic and slid it out of the window before letting it drop. He peered out of the window to see the bear teetering on his legs holding the bed almost vertically, the assassin's eyes widened and he hopped out of the window. He put himself in the path of the bed as it was about to fall to the ground and let it fall onto his back with a pained growl.

"Alright, you got it" he asked as he looked past the furnisher. The grizzly, nodded and lifted the bed onto his back before Blood Moon lifted the barrels carefully onto the bed and watched, making sure the bear was steady. "You alright?" The bear nodded a few times nonchalantly. The assassin shrugged and trotted over to him before teleporting them both and their luggage to Rarity's boutique. He trotted inside and looked around; searching his memory for the door Sweetie-Belle had gone through with his gear last time he was here. Finding a door leading to a small room filled with a washer and dryer, amongst a few other things, he found his cloak, vest and hood in a small wash basket. Packing them into a bag he'd found nearby and slinging it over his back, he trotted back out and hunted for a few needles and thread. He frowned as he thought; her room maybe? He trotted up the stairs and found the mare's room; he pushed through the door and revealed what can only be described as a pristine room, he didn't know why but he frowned; he'd been expecting something a little less organised, what with her occupation as seamstress, he'd been expecting some of that 'organised chaos' at least. He shrugged and trotted through the room, looking for something that resembled a sewing ki-

'_Did I just see that?'_

"_Black, huge, rubber, seemed to have a switch on it and looked to…have been used recently?"_

'_Uh-huh.'_

"_Yep, we both did."_

'_So that's what she got up to when I left the other day…'_

"_Seems she'd just as skilled with her needs as she is with a needle. Heh, just got an idea."_

'_Probably gonna regret this but, what's the idea?'_

"_Find that sewing kit."_

'_Got it.'_

"_Now put the dildo in there with the other stuff."_

'_WHY?'_

"'_Cause it'll be hilarious to see her reaction."_

'…_Yeah, yeah it will.'_

"_Wha-"_

The assassin had a devious grin on his face as he placed the black sex toy into Rarity's sewing kit before resting it on his back and trotting back outside to the awaiting bear. Still with a slight smirk on his face, he trots over to the bear and teleports him and the bear to Twilight's library and into her there, he had the bear pack up Twilight's bed onto his back and trotted down stairs. Once there he spotted the drake doing a spot of dusting. "Hey Spike." Said dragon whipped around brandishing the feather duster like a sword and snapped his gaze around the room.

"W-who goes there" he yelled. Blood Moon watched with an amused expression on his face.

"How's it going" the assassin asked casually.

"Oh, hey Blood Moon, when'd you get here?"

"A second ago, I'm here for the bed and a few Daring Do books." Spike blinked.

"The bed? Daring Do? Why would you need them?"

"Alright Spike, don't freak out but Twilight and the rest of the girls are hold up at Fluttershy's place. They were attacked by the guards for no apparent reason and I don't want them wandering around Ponyville if there are any more guards wandering around that want to have a grudge match with them" he narrowed his eyes "or me." Spike meanwhile, was watching wide eyed and horrified. The dark stallion shrugged. "Either way, where are the Daring Do books?" Spike blinked from his shock and stupor.

"Oh, um" he pointed to a book shelf to the left of them "third row from the top." Blood Moon looked to the shelf he had referred to and used his magic to pull a few random books from said row.

"Anyway, you're coming with me" he told the drake. Spike blinked again.

"What?"

"You. Are. Coming. With. Me." He then grabbed him by the tail, slung him over his shoulder and took him up stairs. The drake saw the mouse on the assassin's head and nodded with a small 'sup'. Up there, they found the bear with a pair of beds and barrels on his back, waiting for the assassin and his guest with his cargo on his back. "Brace" the stallion instructed. There was a flash and they appeared in Fluttershy's front room, Sand Stalker looked up and nodded.

"That was fast" he commented.

"Such is the joy of teleportation" he answered as he removed the barrels from the bear's back and ordered him to take the beds upstairs. Next to him, Spike tottered around dizzily.

"You call that 'joy'" he muttered, not used to the assassin's older form of teleporting before he made his way upstairs. (If you're wondering, the old form is teleporting yourself and everything else gets dragged along, which can be pretty uncomfortable for anypony not ready for it, when compared to the newer form which involves teleporting all parties involved which is more comfortable for them. Blood Moon doesn't use the newer form because he finds his passenger's reactions much too amusing to stop.)

"Alright, what's the plan?" Blood Moon shrugged.

"Give 'em a few minutes to get-" he heard a few bangs from upstairs, indicating the beds had been placed. "Comfortable" he finished. "Give 'em a few minutes to properly get settled." Sand Stalker shrugged and settled into the sofa he was upon. After a while, the bear descended the stairs and sat on the same spot on the floor as before, taking out a pair of small reading glasses, setting them on his muzzle, and picking up a newspaper and looking through it casually. The assassin looked on with a raised eyebrow before he made his way upstairs. Up there, he found the six mares sat upon a bed, two per mattress, and Spike who was sat on a stool at Twilight's bed side, Hunter still on the same bedpost, watching over Fluttershy.

"So how come you're all bedridden? You don't look so bad" he said. The six looked between each other before the assassin answered from fresh hold, leaning on the doorframe.

"Because not all scars are physical Spike. I'm keeping them here so I can keep an eye on them and make sure nothing happens to them, be it from external influence or internal. Plus after what they've all been through I'd think they deserve some kind bed rest, that…and some of you look to be more physically fit than others." He trots over to Rarity and Twilight's bed, levitating the box of sewing equipment over to her before doing the same with the clothing on his back. "On that note, how are you all right now?" The mares mumbled about being alright, most of the rubbing where they had been struck.

"I'm ok" Fluttershy spoke up. The assassin shook his head.

"On the contrary, you were knocked out with a sleep dart. I'd like to make sure there's nothing…disagreeable in the concoction." The butter yellow mare seemed to be taken off guard with this.

"But how will you find out" the mare asked. Blood Moon shrugged and trotted over to the bed she shared with Rainbowdash and sat next to her.

"Sit next to me, and relax." She did so. "Where did the dart strike?" She put her hoof on a spot on her neck, pointing out a minute speck on her that was the point of penetration of the dart. "Hold still" he instructed.

"W-what are you going to do" she asked timidly.

"I'm going to both, extract what is bound to be any leftover toxin and find out if there's anything dangerous in there." Fluttershy squeaked.

"How?" Blood Moon smirked.

"It's best if I don't say" he told her. Fluttershy squeaked in fear, clenching her eyes shut and laying her neck next to the assassin. Said killer then took an awkward look around the room; all eyes were on him and Fluttershy. He shrugged and put his mouth to her neck; he felt Fluttershy tense slightly as his lips met her fur and start sucking gently as he drew the toxins into his own maw. He didn't get much, if any at all and instead lapped his tongue along the neck, tasting the faint residue. He pulled back and swilled the toxin around his mouth like a fine wine, getting a taste for it, before he swallowed it and studied the effects on his system. He glanced up momentarily and glimpsed Fluttershy with a tired smile on her face and a pink blush on her face. She then realised he was done and looked up at him, a bashful look on her face. It wasn't lost on the smirking assassin that there was no regret in there.

"What was all that" Twilight asked, interest in her tone and a pink blush on her checks. She noticed that Blood Moon seemed oblivious to the small moan that had emitted from the mare who's neck he'd just being sucking. She felt slightly jealous, but couldn't curb her curiosity.

"I was testing the poison" he said with a shrug. "It would have taken too long to do some kind of scientific testing, so it's a good job I know my poisons and toxins by taste."

"Then why'd you swallow it" Rainbowdash asks, who was close enough to notice him doing it. Once more, the assassin shrugged.

"I've trained my digestive system to build a resistance to poisons and toxins I ingest. It allows me to figure out what they might be for with the added bonus that it makes me immune to poison I eat or drink." he explains, before turning to Fluttershy. "Hmm, tastes like liquidized Sleeping tree root, amateur work. You're fine" he told her.

"But it wouldn't kill you anyway" Rainbow points out. Before he could answer, Twilight speaks up.

"That's something I was wondering about as well. Earlier you said that you had died before. What did you mean?"

"And why is there a mouse on your head" Dash adds.

"He's my assistant for the time being" he says, answering the Pegasus's question. "And I said that I was dead, because I had died." The room went quiet at that as they awaited his explanation. "When I'd 'died' I did so, going to purgatory to await my judgment. As my judgement is about to be made, my own magic pulls me out the whole process being immeasurably painful; think of it as though my horn was snapped off six times and each process was stretched over a century. Then, all said pain is crammed into a few seconds." Rarity and Twilight shuddered at the thought, while the other four and Spike could only guess. "Anyway, it's for that reason I prefer to avoid death, rather than wallow in my advantage."

"But why do yah need tah heal yerself?"

"Because I still feel pain; having a gaping hole in your side is not the most comfortable of situations. My magic pulls me from death and heals me to a fully repaired state, but, as I said, I'd have to go through extreme pain for that to happen."

"But then you let him kill you anyway" Twilight says. The assassin shrugs.

"It was worth it to see the look on his face" he retorts. "So, are any of you hungry?" His answer comes in the form of a few rumbling stomachs. "Fluttershy" he turns to said mare, who was still in her own little world, that pink blush lingering on her face. "Do you have any food around?" She snaps out of her stupor.

"Oh, um, no I was going to go out to day to do some grocery shopping but, I never got the chance to go out, sorry." Blood Moon shrugs.

"It's alright, I'll go out and get some stuff." Before any could object, he had already flashed out of the room. The six mares sat in silence for a while; Fluttershy curled up on her bed, Hunter, who had flown over to her, sitting next to her while she petted him, with Rainbowdash laying with her head resting on her hooves, which were being supported by the cushions on the bed; Applejack lay on her front with her hooves under body, while Pinkie Pie was sprawled out behind her; and Twilight and Rarity sat on Twilight's bed in the same fashion as Applejack. After a few minutes in companionable silence, Rainbow spoke up.

"So Twilight" she looked up at the mare she had addressed. "You and Blood Moon, huh" she said with a grin on her face. Twilight instantly blushed while Applejack and Rarity giggled into their hooves.

"Well, no…we, um…"

"Don't try and deny it Twi" Rainbow interrupted, now sat on her haunches with the same grin on her face. "We all saw you and him." Pinkie looked up, over her tummy.

"Saw what?"

"Oh yeah, you weren't awake were you. Well Pinks, you missed our very own Twilight Sparkle smoochin' Moon's face off" she told her, falling to laughs towards the end of her sentence.

"Knock it off, Rainbow. Come on, it's not like we're dating" she insisted. Rainbowdash laughed at her friend's argument.

"Sure looked like it, the way you two were sucking face" the Pegasus argued. Twilight's blush deepened.

"Rainbow! Please, h-he's a killer; you can't expect me to-"

"Oh Twilight darling, please, you can't fool us as much as you can't fool yourself dear. It's painfully obvious you don't see him as a simple friend, and if you ask me; I suggest you follow through with any intimate emotions you may have" Rarity said. Twilight looked on with her mouth agape.

"R-Rarity, what's that supposed to mean?"

"What I mean Twilight is that for all his gentlecoltly qualities, the stallion is quite the flirt and a very fine stallion at that." She giggled to herself in a way that slightly annoyed Spike. "Why, just the other day, the two of us were having a very" she fished for a word "stimulating conversation" she told them.

"Ah agree with Rarity on this one Twi; when the two of us were Applebuckin' the other day, he was bein' pretty flatterin'. Not tah mention the way he was actin' about it."

"Yeah" Rainbow joined in "and Fluttershy seemed to be getting into her 'toxin examination' just now." Twilight looked between her friends that had spoken.

"What are you all saying, that I should…go further with him or that he's been flirting with at least two of you?"

"No, what we're saying, darling, is that we think Blood Moon would be a perfect match for you" Rarity explains. Twilight gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean; a 'perfect match'?" Rarity rolled her eyes.

"You both have a deep interest in magic, Blood's is a little darker but all the same; you're both very intelligent; you both know Celestia somehow; he appreciates us just as much as you do; you both have an interest in magical oddities; and it's also obvious you both have a deep interest in each other" she finished with a wink.

"Rarity, that's hardly enough to start a relationship on" Twilight argued.

"Well, you didn't let me finish. Just think about what you offer each other in this; he's very protective, and if today's events were anything to go by, we may all need that;" they went a little quiet at that "you're interest in Equestrian history would be fulfilled with all the conversations you could have about it; he's obviously willing to do anything for you and just think what you offer him. He seems to be a very lonely pony darling, and you could be his answer to that problem. He also has a lot of love to offer" she giggled and shuffled in closer, whispering into her ear "in more ways than one" she said, causing Twilight to blush but offer no argument. "He's also got a lot of personality and plenty of stories to tell, I'm sure, so you'll hardly be bored. And his laidback personality will do wonders to balance you out whenever you get stressed."

"But-but he flirted with you all."

"Ya'll the only one that kissed him Twi" Applejack said. Twilight swallowed.

"What does it matter" she mumbled.

"What does it matter" Rarity and Applejack exploded at once.

"Twilight, you don't seem to understand that you may have found your special somepony" Rarity told her.

"Wait" Spike said, speaking for the first time, all attention in the room suddenly on him. "You mean Blood Moon was the stallion you were thinking about last night?" RD, AJ and Rarity all looked at Twilight with devious grins on their faces.

"Thinking about him while you sleep, huh" Rainbowdash accuses. Rarity and Applejack both giggled. "What" the cyan furred mare asks, curious about the joke.

"Notin', jus' thinking about what Twilight said when she told me 'n Rare about HOW SHE WOKE UP WITH HIM" she laughed, burying her face into the sheets she was laying on. Rainbowdash laughed with her.

"They slept together? Nice one Twi" she said.

"I-it's not like we did anything."

"Well what about the way he was, how did you put it, 'standing to attention' when you woke up" Rarity asks. Rainbow laughed into her hooves.

"Y-you mean he was…" she made some crude but appropriate gestures. Rarity nodded and Applejack laughed some more.

"Will you all please, KNOCK IT OFF!" Rarity And Applejack shut up immediately while Rainbowdash took a second to wind down form her giggles.

"Alright" she conceded, laying on her back. After a few seconds she started laughing again.

"Now what" Twilight demanded. Rainbow giggled some more before she spoke.

"Twilight and Blood Moon sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Rainbowdash" Twilight moaned as she buried her face in her sheets.

"I don't see what you're problem is Twi, if you like him why don't you just ask him out or somethin'? I don't get what your problem is" the Pegasus said. The unicorn mare looked away sheepishly.

"Because I…wait what?"

"What?"

"Y-you don't mind? I mean, my liking him?" Rainbow looked confused.

"Of course not, I don't care" she looked around the room "Pinkie, do you?" The pink mare shook her head, a happy smile on her face throughout the whole conversation. "Fluttershy?"

"No" she mumbled.

"Rarity?"

"Of course not darling."

"AJ?"

"Not a care in Equestria."

"Spike?"

"No…I guess not" he replied unsurely.

"See, nopony here minds. Why would we?"

"Because, I-I though…"

"Twilight, none of us mind who you decide to share your love with, just as long as you love him darling" Rarity told her, hugging her from the side. Twilight felt immeasurably comforted by this.

"Thanks girls, it's just…"

"What" Rainbow prompted.

"He said that he's worried about rushing this, so I don't know when I should say anything."

"How 'bout when you next see him, jus' let it all out" Applejack suggested.

"Yeah, and if he does anything to hurt you, we'll kick his flank" Rainbow reassured. Twilight smiled warmly at all of her friends. The six mares and one dragon then retire to sitting in silence, a small while passing, before they heard the downstairs door open and slam shut.

"Remind me to never buy anything from that cherry sales stallion" they heard the voice of Blood Moon say, sounding a little pissed.

"Why" came Sand Stalker's reply.

"Because he tried to charge me twenty-five bits for a single cherry" he told him, a snarl in his voice. Twilight couldn't help but wince at his temper.

"Say what?! What did you do?"

"Told him where to cram that cherry of his. Next inventory he takes will be a few light though" he said with a grin in his tone.

"You want me to pack this away; I think I heard the girls say your name up there." The elements of harmony could practically hear the assassin shrug.

"If you're offering, thanks." They then heard him climbing the stairs with a brief 'hey bear', who growled politely to him in response. Blood Moon entered the room to find all eyes on him as he entered. "Hey, heard you were talking about me." Rainbowdash giggled to herself.

"Yeah, I think Twilight want's to say something to you." The stallion frowned and trotted in further, looking at the purple mare.

"What's up?" Twilight didn't look at him and blushed slightly.

"Well, I was wondering if…" Blood Moon cocked his head to the side.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I just wanted to tell you that…"

"Aye?"

"That I think I might…" The assassin was beginning to look bored.

"Twilight, if you want to say something, just say it to me, don't be afraid to say it."

"I think I…" After trailing off again she growled to herself, threw her legs around Blood Moon's neck and pulled her lips to his in an effort to get her message across to him, closing her eyes as she ran her lips over his, their movements remarkably synced, before she pulled back and looked him in the eye, her hooves still around his neck. "I think I like you" she told him, pulling out the word 'love' at the last second. She tried to read the assassin's eyes as she awaited his response. He looked a bit blank.

'_What do I say?'_

"_How in the buck do I know? What do you want to say?" _

'_I'll tell you what I want to do, I wanna kiss her right now and tell her how I feel.'_

"_Throw caution to the wind, huh? There's the Blood Moon I know. Y'know what?"_

'_What?'_

"_Just do it."_

'_Wha-'_

Blood Moon looked into Twilight's purple orbs. What were his options? Play it safe and guarantee him and Twilight a longer relationship, but stretch this whole thing out to a, potentially, unbearable degree. Or throw caution to the wind and-

'_Ah screw it; I'm an immortal assassin with nothing to live for anymore. TO THE WIND!'_

Blood Moon pushed Twilight down against the bed, following her down like she had done to him, and planted his lips to hers. They kept the embrace going for ten, long seconds until they parted.

"Twilight, you remember what I was saying about not rushing anything?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I've fought by your side, fought with you, trained you, danced with you, kissed you on multiple occasions, slept with you and rescued you from power crazed guards. I think I can safely say we've been through enough together to say we won't be rushing anything. On that note, Twilight, would you like to throw caution to the wind and be my marefriend and I your coltfriend?" She smiled heartily and reconnected their lips, pulling him in with her hooves and daring to add tongue to their kiss, she moaned slightly and kept at it until she heard one of her friends clear her throat. She broke the kiss and looked at the stallion with a wide smile on her face.

"Consider the caution thrown." All around her, Twilight's friends cheered for the newly made couple, Hunter calling happily.

"D' ya'll need some time alone" Applejack asked with a grin on her face as Rarity hopped off the bed they had just made out on and trotted over to Applejack's bed, sitting on it with her and Pinkie Pie, giving the stallion and mare some room. Twilight cleared her throat awkwardly and got up, sitting on the bed as she was before. Blood Moon sat next to her with a bemused grin on his face as he looked around the room at all the mares that were smiling at him and Twilight. That was until a voice called from downstairs.

"Blood Moon get down here, I ain't cooking for any of you." Sand Stalker's message brought the stallion's mind back to the fact that some of the ponies in this room hadn't eaten today.

"Well I don't know what he's going on about; I cook about as well as Sweetie-Belle." Rarity actually gasped at that.

"I-I can make something, if that's ok with you" Fluttershy told them, as quiet as ever. The assassin shrugged.

"Sure, whatever, if you're up to it. That said; I can't cook to save my life" pause for laughs "Sand Stalker refuses and I'm pretty sure that bear can't either, so we don't have many options" Blood Moon told her as he hopped off the bed, trotting over to the door and turning back to the room as he watched Fluttershy follow him over, before the stallion put his hoof to his maw and whistled for his bird who flew over to him and perched himself on his shoulder, before the stallion and mare trotted downstairs. The two past by the bear and Sand Stalker who both seemed locked in an epic dual across the chess board; Fluttershy floated by, humming to herself, like nothing was amiss, while the assassin's and phoenix's gaze lingered on the two as they passed them. The two entered the kitchen, now fully stocked, and stood in the middle. "What is it with that bear? His manners are about as impeccable as Rarity's." Fluttershy gave a quiet giggle.

"Oh, Mr Bear is one of the most civilised critters I know. He's also one of the best chess players I know" she says as she goes through some of her cupboards and picks out a few ingredients and start preparing them. Blood Moon watches with vague interest.

"What are you making" he asks after fifteen minutes. Fluttershy glances around at him as she pulls out some carrots.

"Oh, just a salad" she tells him. The assassin watches from a short distance, analysing her movements with a trained eye: she was a little jerky, almost like she was paranoid and on edge.

"Fluttershy, are you sure you're ok, you seem a little…edgy." The mare looked around at him hesitantly.

"I-I'm just a little nervus" she told him.

"About what?" The mare 'squeed' to herself and turned back to her food preparations.

"Nothing" she squeaked out "just thinking about the stallion who just kissed my neck and now I can't seem to get off my mind. Ohh, why do my neither regions feel so funny" she whispered to herself, too low for even the assassin to pick up. Hunter, however, frowned with a confused 'huh'.

"Say something?" The mare blushed furiously.

"I-I-I was just saying that… you…should…go pick up the fillies" she told him, the lie not lost on the assassin but, with a glance at Hunter, he let it go, given the fact that she had a point. Looking at the clock, it showed him that school would be letting out its foals by now.

"Good point, I should get a move on" he admitted. Teleporting from the room, he left Fluttershy to herself and her cooking.

She peered over her shoulder to see the empty room, and the elderly stallion in the front room now dozing on the sofa, having finished his chess game with Mr Bear, who was nowhere to be seen. She paused for a single second before her left fore-hoof clamped over her marehood and started rubbing at it, biting her lower lip lightly as she rotated her hoof around her pink folds, making sure to touch her clit while she was at it; she stroked it softly and gently, the way she liked it, and made her favourite movements, causing her to let out a few groans. She decided she needed to get her other hoof involved; she rested her head on the counter and put her right hoof at her glistening, dripping hole; she moved her left hoof around her opening while her right went to her clit; flicking it, touching it, rubbing it vigorously. She took both hooves and put them at either side of her folds before she spread them apart, a low squeal emitting from her maw as she did it and a pleasured smile finding its way to her face, she slipped her right hoof in and pushed it in a little. Then, the mare started moving it up and down inside her, turning it slightly as she pleasured herself.

She pushed her hoof in slightly, as her other held her pussy lips open and caressed her pearl, and she stifled a moan before she started swirling again, feeling the moisture gathering down there; she pushed her hoof in further, moving it around some more, as she trust into herself. She kept it up for a while, more breathless moans slipping from her still smiling maw. But her hoof wasn't enough; she tried pushing her hoof further, but she couldn't reach, given her current angle so she removed her hoof and turned to the refrigerator and trotted over, pushing her hind-legs together so none of her juices fell from her pussy, making her flank cheeks push together. Fluttershy opened the door weakly with her hoof and peered through its content hoping to find what she was after, but she couldn't hold on for long and ended up holding herself with her hoof and crammed her other into her tight femness, moaning in satisfaction and relief, some drool running down the side of her mouth as she moved her hoof around inside her. Still hoofing herself, she looked around the refrigerator hopeful that Blood Moon had picked up-

"Oh, thank Celestia" she murmured to herself as she pulled out the cucumber. She closed the fridge door and floated over to the corner of her kitchen, hoof still between her legs, sitting on her sweating flanks with her hind-legs spread apart. Without a second's hesitation, she plunged the member shaped veggie into marehood with a lustful moan, a blush colouring cheeks and another small smile spreading over her lips. She gripped the natural sex toy in a vice like grip in her right hoof as she fucked herself with it; she was done with being gentle with herself. Now she wanted it _hard. _The yellow furred mare thrust her makeshift cock into her lustful cunt, pushing it deep and hard, imaging the slap of balls against her ass-hole as the make-believe stallion stood over fucked her vigorously. Her stabs continued, each one prompting a sharp squeal of pleasure from the mare, as she slowly slides down the side of the counter, ending up on her back with her right hoof still moving as she went. Fluttershy bit her lip, holding her left hoof to her mouth as her faceless stallion continued rutting her. She found herself looking up to where he would be stood over her; stood between her spread legs, moving his hips to do nothing but pleasure her, telling her how beautiful she was, how tight she was. She squirmed around some as some sharp bolts of pleasure shot up her spine; her left hoof reached up and she searched around for something else to penetrate her, eventually coming across a shaft shaped object. She gripped it in her sweating hoof and pulled it down, holding it in front of her face: a carrot. With a moan and a shrug, she moved her left hoof down her body and put the end of her newest improvised dildo to the tight ring of her ass; she pushed it in a little, teasing herself before she pushed it in with a high pitched squeal that was drawn out and pleasure filled. She groaned more frequently as she continued with her thrusts, moving her left and right hooves in intervals; she pushed the carrot in further than normal and squeed, her tongue lolling out and her right hoof tensing, accidently snapping her cucumber in half. She gazed at the half-veggie in her hoof and thought about what to do with it; in the end she just crammed the other half in her marehood below the other half. Moving the carrot with her left hoof and the cucumbers around with her right, she came to one conclusion: it still wasn't enough. Her libido was fired up like a furnace and she knew that when she got horny, she got _horny. _Still on her plump flank, she sat on her kitchen floor, wondering how else she could satisfy herself; she knew Rarity owned one of the best toys she'd ever ridden, the infamous 'black bull' and that she had her own collection hidden below the stairs. She'd have gone for that already but with that mercenary sat in her living room, she may wake him up and find herself in a very awkward situation. She peeked out of the tiled room at him.

'_Maybe that wouldn't be so bad…'_

She quickly shook the thoughts from her head, knowing she'd likely freak him out rather than turn him on and prompting him to rut her vigorously, bending her over one of the counters with his great stallionhood in her as he fucked her senseless, touching her in all the right places and spreading her moist glistening walls with his raging, pulsing…she kept jabbing the carrot into her ass and moved the cucumbers inside her around some more, rotating them, thrusting them, using them to spread her lips and tease her clit. These thoughts weren't doing anything to help her; she had to get to the room beneath her stairs so she could find something to pleasure herself better. She stood up shakily, and trotted over to the front room, her erect wings useless to her now, with the veggies still inside her, shifting in her and causing her fore-hooves to weaken and make her face fall to the floor and hold her lush, sweaty plot in the air as they kept moving around in her soft, pink walls. She eventually makes it to the seemingly normal wooden door. She looks down at the potted plant and reaches down, the simple movement sending waves of pleasure through her as she moves her rear-legs around and unintentionally, technically, moving the rods around inside her. The pink mane mare picks up the pot and plant and looks at the small plate beneath it used to keep the water off the floor, and finds the key there. Taking it in her hoof, and having to forcibly restrain herself from fucking herself with that too, she takes it to a small wooden box and opens it to reveal three keys; she knew taking out the wrong one would make the box automatically seal for a day and block her attempts to get at her toys. Luckily, she'd chosen the key she knew she'd never forget; out of the pink, yellow and black key, it was the black, the only colour not on her body and her favourite colour to be in her. She placed the key in the lock and turned it, a sharp, overly loud 'click' following. Fluttershy squeed and glanced over her shoulder at the sleeping stallion, thankful that he hadn't awoke, considering she would have to explain why she was holding her tail up in such a provocative manner and had a bunch of greenery in her love holes. She would have taken them out but, for some reason, the prospect of being caught like this turned her on, along with the sweat on her face, her juices on her hoof and the general scent of sex in the air. The yellow furred mare turned her head back to the now open cupboard and looked around inside; with a small smile, she took down the big, pink dick shaped rubber sex object that she had lovingly nicknamed 'ol' reliable', because it had never failed to make her cum. With a, muffled and exited squeal, she trotted over to her kitchen and sat in the same spot. With a stifled and disappointed moan she pulled the two halves of the cucumber out of her pussy before licking and sucking her juices off of the green shafts with her skilled tongue and lips, moaning slightly as she tasted herself, before putting them back up on the table. She took the pink dildo in her hoof and flicked her tongue along the tip before she ran her tongue up the length of it, pushed it into her maw and deep throated it, moaning slightly at the feeling of the veiny cock rolling between her lips and over her tongue, rolling the organ around it and swirling her wet muscle over it. She pulled the pink, rubber stallionhood from her maw, gasping slightly as she looked over it. She repositioned it in her hooves and looked for the small black switch on the base of the toy and flicked it to the on position. Reliable instantly started vibrating in her grip as she lowered it to her marehood; teasing it along the lips of her inviting hole, she felt every individual movement through her wet, puffy mounds before she pulled back and slammed it into her dripping wet, tight, petit pussy, with a squeal only muffled by the biting of her own lip. She thrust the vibrating member into her and kept at it for a while, her juices dripping onto the floor beneath her. She wasn't bothered with any mess she'd made; she'd just clean it up later when she was done with the salads.

"Oh dear" she murmured to herself. She looked down at the member still thrusting into her and decided that, for the moment, this took precedent. She kept thrusting and pounding it into her. She looked over herself, again at where the stallion fucking her would be, and imagined different ponies there, changing with each thrust. Big Macintosh appeared for a while, his powerful legs and hips pumping into her; he was replaced by Luna, clad in a midnight blue strap-on that felt as good as the real thing, with a sultry grin on her face as she looked at the filly's squirming form as she fucked and pounded her relentlessly; she was replaced by Rainbowdash, one of her closest friends, who was wearing the same sex toy on her hips, as she humped her yellow and pink hole faster than anypony else possibly could; finally, the same faceless stallion as before reappeared. With each thrust he gained more details; it started with the fur, it was a deep grey like silver that shined with an unwashed and greasy shimmer and flowed lifelessly; next was his mane, it grew windswept, untamed and un-styled, the colour drinking in the darkness around it, his tail following suit in every respect; next the body mass of the faceless stallion was replaced with the toned and heavily scarred body, that glisten with sweat and grinded against her own as he thrust into her repeatedly; then came his eyes, those deep blood red eyes that she had thought so scary when she had first met him but now she saw as deep, knowing and soothing, though at the moment, the were nothing but something for her own to latch onto in her overwhelming lust; when his eyes were formed the rest of his face formed around them, that deep scar that now didn't look so ugly to her, his jaw bone that strangely reminded her of Rainbowdash's, his wrinkles that spoke volumes about the way he thought but formed a book that could be read by none and the rest of his features that made butterflies flutter through her stomach. And probably her womb. No wait, that was her approaching orgasm. The stallion above her started thrusting faster, concentrating on nothing but making her feel good; she felt pressure in her loins building up, alongside a massive heat and pleasure that slammed into her body, all over, all at once. She made her best attempts at clamping down on her deep lustful moan, but the sheer pleasure of being fucked so hard and the satisfaction that seemed to come with the thought of the battle hardened stallion sleeping with her soft little self, made her loose a small scream that she couldn't contain. In her post orgasmic bliss, she almost missed the call from upstairs.

"Hey Fluttershy, you alright" came Rainbow's voice. The mare took a second to gather herself before she replied.

"Yes, I'm fine" she called back breathlessly. This seemed to satisfy the cyan Pegasus as she made no more comments. Fluttershy looked down at herself, ol' reliable still vibrating inside her marehood. She gripped it with her hoof and pulled it out, cum and juices gushing from her opening and onto the kitchen floor, the carrot that was in her ass following. Huh, she'd forgotten about that. She closed her eyes softly with a small smile on her lips and a breathless sigh; she slides down to the floor, her legs still spread out and the dildo still in her grip. After a small while she got up, shaky as ever, and returned to her efforts in making her friend's salads. She looked down at the toy in her hoof and flicked her tongue over the tip, tasting more of her juices and her cum; she pushed the whole thing into her maw as she cleaned the toy off, enjoying her own taste and loving the feeling of a cock in her mouth. When she'd cleansed it, she glanced over her shoulder again, spotting nopony and grinned timidly to herself; she reached back and pushed the pink member back into her pink folds, feeling it vibrate inside her with another small moan. She pulled her hoof away, leaving the stallionhood inside her, and got back to making the food. Every now and then she would feel a prang of pleasure and her legs would fail her, causing her to almost fall to the ground and become a quivering mound of moans and pleasure. She didn't know why she did this; all's she knew was this was one of the phases of her sex drive: gentle, rough, orgasm, dirty. Right now, she had fucked herself and was still in her post orgasmic bliss and she wanted nothing more than to get a little naughty and if she had to stuff a fake, vibrating dick in her love tunnel and hold her tail up high, revealing herself in all her glory, in an attempt to flirt with disaster, then so be it. As she went about preparing her dishes her thoughts drifted to what she had been imagining but a few minutes ago; Blood Moon. She could only wonder what his reaction would be to her masturbating over him. She sighed heartily, pushing the thoughts from her head; she'd just watched Blood Moon ask Twilight out, and she'd said yes. She was happy for them of course, but she was a mare who could get very…excitable at times. Few were the stories when she managed to break out of her house when she was in heat. Her right hind-leg left the floor for a second as she felt another prang of pleasure rush through her system, her flank going up with it as it worked from her marehood, up her spine and hit the rest of her body, pushing another pleasured breath from her. She managed to put her leg down and get back to work. She searched for the last addition to her and her friend's salads but couldn't find it. She put a hoof to her chin, biting on the tip of it as another smaller wave of ecstasy washed through her, and looked around for-

"Ah, there…oh, um, uhhh" she had found her desired veggie but it had been the one she'd put in her femness but a minute ago. Holding both sides of the cucumber in her hooves, she had yet another dirty though. Putting both pieces below her dripping marehood, she managed to catch a few drops of her juices on them before she cut them up masterfully and added them to the salads. She looked back to the puddle and bit her lip; she couldn't leave it there, somepony might slip in it…and find out what it was. She grabbed a cloth and soaked it under the tap before she cleaned it up, holding the cloth in both hooves and swaying her flank for her imaginary audience as she mopped up the stains. Done with removing the evidence, she put the bowls of salad on her back and wings and trotted for the stairs. She paused as she passed her room under the stairs and turned her head back at her flank. Fluttershy slid the food off her back and onto a nearby table before she sat on her plump rump and pulled the cock out with some breathless and pleasured groans and grunts accompanying each inch. Having pulled it out, and cleaned it in the same way as before, she put it back in the cupboard and lifted the bowls back onto her back and closed the door with a sultry and confident sway of her fine plot and trotting upstairs with some healthy sway added to her flank, her eyes sexy and half-lidded and a small, suggestive, smile on her lips. Trotting into her room she was met with a few questions.

"Fluttershy, there you are. What took you so long" Twilight asked with some concern in her voice.

"Yeah, what was with that scream we heard" Rainbowdash adds.

"Oh, it was nothing, I just forgot Sand Stalker was down there and he scared me, I hid from him for a little while" she told them, hoping they wouldn't clock that she had screamed after, most of the wait. Rainbowdash looked at her with a raised eyebrow, suggesting something didn't sit right in her stomach, but shrugged anyway.

"Oh, alright" Twilight says, apparently pleased with her answer "anyway, it sure looks like it was worth the wait." Fluttershy smile graciously.

"Thank you Twilight, now eat up everypony. A little bit of my love is in every bowl."

* * *

Blood Moon stood before the school house and awaited the three fillies. He had been waiting for fifteen minutes, Hunter perched on his shoulder. The two had drawn some pretty amusing looks from the parents and passers-by, some staring in awe at the bird of fire, others in fear and confusion at the assassin. Said killer was beginning to wonder what the holdup was, pretty much all of the other fillies and colts had been picked up by their parents already and he was the only one to still be here, he hadn't even seen the three fillies he was here for. At first he had thought it was because the foals did trust or like him, but with his visit to Sweetie-Belle the other day he could only assume she at least liked him. He frowned as he wondered where they could be, casting his gaze to the floor in thought.

'_Maybe they're in some kind of after school thing that Fluttershy didn't know about. Hmm, wonder what she got up to when I left, she seemed eager to get rid of me. Ah colt, I hope I didn't do anything to upset her. Last thing I want to do is get on her bad side, even I know the stories about that grand galloping gala a few years back.' _

The assassin lifted his gaze slightly as he felt a presence behind him, narrowing his eyes as he did so.

"What is it Ditzy" he asked as he turned to said mailmare; there she was, grey fur and blond mane and tail. She wasn't alone Dinky stood with her, hiding with, tearful eyes behind her big sister's legs and, of all ponies, Doctor Whooves stood next to her. The two stood and watched each other, both set of bespoke eyes gazing at each other, Blood Moon with narrowed and intimidating stare and Ditzy with a fearful look on her face, trying to steel herself under Blood Moon's glare.

"What are you doing here" she asked timidly "I didn't know you had any foals." The assassin didn't change his facial expression.

"I don't, I'm picking up three fillies for a friend. Not that it's any of your concern" he added.

"Listen Blood Moon, I don't know why you-"

"Because you didn't trust me. If your trust went as deep as your suspicions, maybe it would have worked out, but you didn't trust me, did you, so it didn't work out. Move on" he told her before he glanced at Whooves. "Or maybe you have already" he said as he put two and two together. "I wondered if I'd see you again" he murmured.

"I believe Ditzy is trying to bridge the gap between you" the odd stallion told him. "I suggest you listen to her-"

"Don't tell me how to run my life I-" He stopped when he felt a presence close by him. He looked down to see Dinky looking up at him with wide and wet eyes that didn't faze the assassin one bit, her lower lip was wobbling and her ears were pushed down against her head. Blood Moon looked straight down at her. "What is it kid?"

"Mr Blood Moon, why did you leave my mom? I thought you loved her" she told him. Blood Moon lowered his head to her. "I-I thought you loved me. We were going to be a family together." The assassin grunted dismissively.

"Rule one of life kid; never assume when it comes to love. Same way you shouldn't have thought I loved her. Same way you shouldn't have assumed I even wanted a family" he stood up "same way I shouldn't have assumed she trusted me." Ditzy looked like she was about to cry but also looked enraged.

"I did trust you! You're the one who went and slept with Pinkie Pie and practically made out Vinyl right in front of me" she argued. Blood Moon grunted.

"No. You think I had sex with her, when I didn't, I just slept with her, and we weren't even in the same bed. You. Just. Assumed." He narrowed his eyes further and leaned in threateningly. "And Vinyl, the key word is 'practically'. Nothing happened between us, but, y'know, I should probably thank Vinyl for making a move; it showed me your true colours. I should thank Pinkie for stabbing me in the side too, if she hadn't I wouldn't have run into you and broke up with you." Ditzy looked hurt, her tears threatening to spill as he formed his words.

"You're a monster" she told him. The dark stallion leaned back and smirked.

"I'm an assassin. And you're a fool to think you could try and bridge this gap, what did you think this would achieve? There is nothing between us anymore. I told you I didn't want to see you anymore…make sure I don't." Ditzy looked even closer to tears, but instead she steeled herself. Blood Moon went to turn away from her.

"You're not even going to try, are you?" The assassin turned back with a cruel smirk on his face.

"Why would I even want to mare? You're not even worth my unlimited ti-" Her hoof had raised and struck him across the face, slapping him hard, cutting off his sentence and throwing his head to the side, making Hunter fly off his shoulder and screech enraged at her.

"Not even worth your time? I was worth your time when I was being raped, and when I was sad and vunr-" His hoof had flashed and struck her back, a nasty snarl on his face as he did. Ditzy was thrown off her hooves and landed in a sobbing pile, Dinky gasping and galloping after her, hugging her and weeping with her. Doctor Whooves snarled at Blood Moon and squared up to him, the assassin just laughed at him and shoved him away before flashing behind him and tripping him up and teleported back to his original spot, shaking his head bemused with the good Doctor's pathetic attempts at protecting Ditzy.

"I told you once I don't want to see you, now I don't want to know you. Go on an adventure or something, just whatever you do, do it away from me" he told her venomously, trotting away as Hunter landed on him again.

"You son of a whorse" she called after him.

"That would make me your son" he called back without looking, listening Ditzy fall into even deeper sobs. He trotted away from the trio and entered the Ponyville school house.

Inside he discovered Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie-Belle, alongside the teacher he had come across on his last visit and two other fillies he didn't recognise. He looked at the two he didn't know; the one furthest from the door had pink fur; a light violet and white mane and tail; wore a diamond tiara atop her head and one her flank; and had light blue eyes that he absolutely hated. The one closer to the door had light grey fur; a silver and grey mane and tail, the mane of which was braded and kept in a purple band; she wore a pair of light blue glasses and pearls around her neck; she had a silver ornamental spoon on her flank; and had dark violet eyes that brought the same reaction from the assassin as the other filly's did. He was sure he was going to absolutely _love _these two. He seemed to have trotted into a scolding and, with a glance at Hunter, he decided to watch unnoticed from the doorway.

"What do you girls have to say for yourself" the mare the assassin had met on his last visit here asked. Blood Moon looked at the mare; same deep purple fur, same green eyes and two tone pink mane and tail. She still had her cutie mark showing three flowers with smiles on them. Cheerilee. She sounded annoyed at something, the three fillies Blood Moon liked looking down in shame while the other two didn't seem to care about what had happened. The mare looked at them all. "Well" she prompted.

"We're sorry Miss Cheerilee, it's just…" Sweetie-Belle spoke up, but trailed off. It was at this point the killer noticed the small bruise on her right fore-leg; he recognised it as an amateur 'dead leg'.

"These _losers _we're saying mean things about my daddy" the pink one said. "She" the filly pointed at Sweetie-Belle "was saying that he was helping somepony take over Ponyville and wanted to get rid of everypony." Cheerilee gave Sweetie-Belle a 'don't be silly' look.

"Well that's no excuse to start hitting her" she scolded.

"They started it" the grey one protested. Cheerilee looked at the three pointedly.

"Is this true" she asked them. All three of them looked like they couldn't believe what they'd just been asked.

"No way" Scootaloo exclaimed "Diamond Tiara started it! Me and Applebloom found her and Silver Spoon beating her up when we got there. We were just standing up for her!" Cheerilee shook her head.

"Well that wasn't the right thing to do, you should have come and found me, or another adult" she told them. Sweetie-Belle held her injured leg with a look on her face that would make the devil himself want to just scoop her up and hug her, telling her it would be all okay. Before any of the fillies could protest, Blood Moon spoke up.

"And good would have that have done? If Applebloom and Scootaloo had rushed for help its most likely Sweetie-Belle would be in a much worst condition than she is now." Cheerilee and the foals looked over at where the assassin was stood. When the teacher saw him she almost lost face, but managed to get it back before anypony but Blood Moon could notice.

"Oh, mister Blood Moon, it's you. Why are you here" she asked before she glanced at the fillies in attendance. "No, can it wait; as you can see I have a disagreement that needs seeing to here." Blood Moon stepped further into the room.

"I'm actually here to pick up those three" he said, motioning at the three fillies he liked. Cheerilee looked at them before she looked back at the assassin with a frown.

"I'm trying to settle a dispute between Sweetie-Belle, Scootaloo, Applebloom, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon here. I'm afraid I can't let you take them yet." The assassin sighed and stepped in further. Cheerilee frowned again. "Are you even related? I'm not authorised to let somepony not related to a foal take them home." Outwardly, the assassin frowned in confusion, but inwardly, he flinched; how could he have looked over such an obvious detail? Of course the school didn't let foals get picked up by ponies who weren't kin to them. He had to think of something to fool the teacher, maybe claim to have a relation to one of them. He looked at the three fillies, deciding what ruse to go with. With a slight, confused grin shot at Cheerilee, he made up his mind and answered.

"Sure, I'm Scootaloo's dad" he said nonchalantly, Hunter calling slightly in agreement. The whole room went silent; the two fillies he didn't like staring at him, along with Cheerilee and Scootaloo, while Applebloom and Sweetie-Belle were staring at Scootaloo. Scootaloo almost looked like she was about to cry, or do something else to blow his cover, until the dark stallion winked at her, sending a subtle message. The filly blinked and smiled.

"Yeah it is him, I just didn't recognise him with the…" she trailed off, looking for something about him, Blood Moon acting to scratch his face but discreetly pointing out his scar. "The scar, you didn't have that when you left." She got out of her chair and cantered over to him, hugging his chest. "Are you ok? Did it hurt" she asked in a way that either demonstrated some pretty impressive acting skills or a longing to actually say these words. Blood Moon smiled and hugged her back.

"Nah, nothing daddy can't handle" he assured, rubbing her back. He looked over her head at her wings. "How's the flying coming along?" The filly looked back at her wings.

"It's…getting better" she said hesitantly. "Rainbowdash has been helping me out" she told him. The assassin nodded.

"This…Rainbowdash, she's been helping out my little Scoots?" Said filly nodded. "I'll have to thank her" he said. Cheerilee look on with slight tears in her eyes as she watched father and daughter reunite. She cleared her throat and shook away her tears, pulling herself out of her stupor.

"Well…I-I… as heart-warming as this is" she sniffed a little "I-I must ask you where you've been." Blood Moon looked up.

"Busy, I'm a mercenary. I've been earning a living to keep me and my family's head above water. As you can probably guess, I have to stay out of town for extended periods of time. But now I'm going to be sticking around for some time" he looked down and kissed the top of Scootaloo's head "and finally spend some time with my family." Scootaloo gave an exited squeal and hugged him tighter.

"Then what were you doing with Ditzy Doo?"

"I was running an errand for a friend, she'd been having some trouble as of late and I was protecting her."

"Oh, right." Blood Moon looked down at Scootaloo with a grin on his face before he remembered what he had interrupted. He looked up with concern in his expression.

"You said something about 'a dispute' didn't you?" Cheerilee nodded. "Then by all means" he said, lifting Scootaloo onto his back "tell me." Cheerilee nodded again, before she frowned.

"I mean no disrespect but, I can't really see the family resemblance" she commented. Blood Moon looked up at his 'daughter' and frowned. He looked at the filly, who looked down at him, and took in her appearance and compared it to his own. He looked back at Cheerilee.

"You kiddin' me?" He pointed to their wind swept manes. "You can't see the resemblance" he asked, pointing at their similar jaw bones. "Come on, she's even got my muzzle" he said, pointing out their, coincidently, identical noses. "Her mother was a Pegasus, beautiful mare, everypony always said she didn't look like she was mine. They found out how similar our hooves looked" he told her. Cheerilee put a hoof to her chin.

"I-I guess I can see it. Anyway, you wanted to know what was going on." The assassin nodded.

"I did, I wouldn't be a responsible parent if I didn't take note of all the scraps my girl and her friends got into now, would I?"

"Yes, well. I found these three in a fight earlier today, both parties claiming the other started it."

"I already said; it was these _losers. _The blank-flanks were accusing my daddy of helping somepony takeover Ponyville, and wouldn't stop-"

"So your solution was to start throwing your weight around and hit Sweetie-Belle? The apple doesn't fall very far away from the tree, it seems." Diamond Tiara gasped.

"What's _that _supposed to mean." Blood Moon narrowed his eyes.

"What I mean is that you seem to be just as much of a-" Hunter batted him around the head, making him pause and glance at the young ears around the room "horror, as your dad. I can see the family resemblance between you two, that's for sure." Cheerilee gulped.

"Now now, let's be civil." Blood Moon rounded on her.

"Of course" he said, mock civility in his tone. "Now, as teacher, it falls to you to decide what punishment will befall these fillies" he told her. She nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, quite right. From what I can tell, Sweetie-Belle sparked this powder keg with her…baseless accusations." The assassin frowned but said nothing. Cheerilee put a hoof to her chin as she thought. "I expect to see you all, every day, after class for the next four weeks." Blood Moon blinked and looked at her disbelievingly.

"Hold up, Sweetie-Belle said some things, yes, but it was Diamond's bright idea to go from pushes to shoves." Cheerilee narrowed her eyes at the stallion.

"But cause and effect-"

"Cause and effect be damned, there's a difference between a word and an action. Surly you know that, being a teacher." Cheerilee advanced on him.

"You expect me to go easy on them just because of a technicality?" The assassin didn't back down.

"Is a robber given the same sentence as a mass murderer?" Cheerilee snarled her lip slightly.

"Fine" she exclaimed, trotting away from the stallion and throwing her hooves in the air "everypony gets off Scott free, happy now?" Blood Moon snorted.

"No, I'm not, because Sweetie-Belle here" he trotted over to her and held her injured leg in his hoof, looking over it and making an example of it to Cheerilee "has a nasty bruise on her leg, and you seem quite happy for her" he pointed at Diamond "to get away with it."

"I'm not happy with it at all, you're just making impossible to put down any type of discipline."

"Wrong, you just don't seem to get who's innocent and guilty here. Sweetie-Belle said something regrettable and you're willing to give her a months' worth of detention just for that. You telling me you've never thrown a few insults around every now and then, she's the victim here, damnit. Scoots and Applebloom stood up for her, a good deed, and you want to punish them for that? Those two" he pointed at the now cowering Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara "are the ones who thought it would be fun to start beating on her. If you ask me, the educational system here is messed up!" With that last remark Cheerilee looked to be on the verge of tears. She looked between the two groups of ponies and took a calming breath.

"F-fine! Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon." Said fillies looked at her with a worried look on their faces. "I expect to see you here after school for the next two weeks, you can go today but I expect to see you tomorrow." Both fillies gave a 'what' and a 'you're kidding' respectively. Diamond looked at Blood Moon, who glared at her.

"Just wait 'till my daddy hears about this" she exclaimed. The assassin grinned menacingly and leaned in, prompting her to re-adopt her look of fear. Cheerilee motioned for the two he didn't like to leave.

"I look forward to it." He leaned up with a grin and looked up at Sweetie-Belle and Applebloom, who looked at him in ways that just said 'awesome!' The assassin looked over at Cheerilee, who had retired to sitting behind her desk looking miserable. He suddenly regretted being so forthright. "Let's go girls, your sisters are waiting." He and the fillies trotted out.

Once outside he almost fell to laughing at Cheerilee's gullibility, but when he turned back to the door to the school, he saw the teacher looking like one of the saddest mares he'd ever seen. He was about to leave when he looked up at Hunter, who was giving him a look that told him exactly what he wanted him to do. With a sigh he lifted Scootaloo off of his back and turned back to them.

"Give me a second will you" he said, the fillies give a bright smiled nod in unison. The assassin trotted into the door and found the class room eerily quiet. "Cheerilee" he said to the mare who looked up at him with misery painted on her face.

"What is it? Forget something" she asked bitterly. "Or maybe you'd like to continue to make fun of my profession and talent?" Blood Moon sighed and trotted over to her, grabbing a chair with his magic, flipping it around and straddling it, looking at the mare.

"Look, I don't say this very often but, I'm sorry. I…I was a little harsh against you, I know for a fact you must be a good teacher, if you weren't you wouldn't be one at the moment would you." Cheerilee looked up and gave him a sad smile.

"Thank you, but the problem is not what you said, but the fact that it's true" the assassin raised an eyebrow "what you said about not knowing who's innocent and guilty? It's not that I didn't know, it's that I couldn't do anything direct to Diamond Tiara, or Silver Spoon considering her company." Blood Moon cocked his head to the side.

"What do you mean?" The mare shrugged.

"What I mean is; Diamond Tiara is Filthy Rich's daughter, and he's the school's only sponsor." Blood Moon frowned.

"Only sponsor?" She nodded.

"Yes."

"But shouldn't the school board have to take care of that sort of stuff?" Cheerilee huffed.

"The school board doesn't pay for that sort of thing, let me put it to you like this; they pay my wages and they paid for the school. The upkeep, the facilities, the benches outside. All are provided by the sponsors we have and any charity we can get. It's because of that I can't really make any real move against those two, and yes, I do know what little horrors they can be" she admitted. Blood Moon nodded before he frowned and looked up at Cheerilee.

"Why are you telling me this? I'm not objecting or anything, just curious." Cheerilee gave him a weak smile.

"You stood up for your daughter, and you look like the kind of stallion I can trust." Blood Moon smirked.

"I'll have to work on that" he muttered. "Why did he even get involved? What's in it for him?" Cheerilee grunted.

"It gives him good PR, so instead of being seen as the big business that makes pots of money he's the hero that has infinite generosity."

"Sounds like they're confusing him with Rarity" he commented. Cheerilee nodded before she continued.

"I dread to think of what Filthy will do now, last time I tried to give Diamond a detention he cut our funds for a month. I almost had to close the school" she told him. The assassin put a hoof to his chin; he didn't have an unlimited amount of bits so…no scratch that, he sort of does; after ten thousand years of preforming high risk, and high pay, assassinations, living on the job and in the sticks and eating at odd intervals had allowed him to amass a hefty fortune. Coupled with his vastly out of place amount of knowledge of the stock exchange, gained for a few experiments that told him when and where to put his cash for maximum effect, he was technically one of the most wealthy and influential ponies in equestria. A though crossed his mind.

'_Why in Tartarus not?'_

"Say, Cheerilee, I'm not trying to win any points here, I know that when my Scoots does wrong she needs to know what she did wrong. I'll tell you what; tell me what to do, and you'll have yourself a new school sponsor" he told her. The mare looked up and blinked.

"You'll…what?" The assassin grinned.

"I'm not greedy, and I know a worthy cause when I see one. You love your work and the foals you teach, you deserve it." The mare blinked once before she leapt over her desk and wrapped the stallion in a violent hug, prompting Hunter to leap off his shoulder and caw unhappily, the mouse leaping onto his leg and holding on for dear life.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! You have no idea how much that means to me" she exclaimed. Blood Moon smiled.

"I have a good idea" he told her "now, if you'll excuse me, I have a daughter and her friends to get home" he said. The mare got off him and helped him up, a pink blush on her face when she realised what she had just done.

"Scootaloo is a lucky girl to have a father like you" she told him. The stallion smirked lopsidedly and shrugged.

"I prefer to say I'm lucky to have a girl like her" he said. Nodding his farewell and trotting out of the door, he found the fillies waiting for him. They looked up at him as he approached, trotting over to him, Scootaloo stopping a little closer than the rest.

"Where were you?"

"What were you doing?"

Scootaloo didn't ask him anything; she just stood before him looking up at him with wide, conflicted eyes. He ignored the others questions for now and concentrated on the orange furred filly before him.

"Why did you say that I was your daughter?" Blood Moon didn't shrug; he just looked down at her.

"I needed something to get you out of there. I…hope you don't mind." She looked close to tears as she shook her head.

"No" she squeaked, before she managed to shake her tears away and look back at him with a more casual look on her face. "No, it's fine. Don't worry about." The assassin hummed and nodded, using his magic to put the orange filly onto his back. Trotting back and explaining what had happened, getting a few gasps in response, he trotted back to Fluttershy's place. All three of them looked eager to get to their sisters and by the time they had gotten within sight of the small cottage, they had taken to galloping for the animal caretaker's home. They burst through the door with a 'RARITY', 'APLEJACK' and 'RAINBOWDASH' between them, aimed at their respective big sisters. Blood Moon guided them upstairs and where they found their respective big sisters and leapt onto them, all of them catching them out of the air and holding them close to their chests. Even Rainbow seemed not to care about the public displays of affection, given the circumstances. The dark stallion watched from the door way with a smile on his face. He looked around the room; Twilight was doing much the same as him, but was taping the spot on the bed besides her; Fluttershy was blushing hugely and refused to meet his confused gaze; and Pinkie Pie, as ever, had an impossible grin plastered on her face.

Nothing much more happened that day; the sisters hung out together; Pinkie was playing Blackjack with Spike; Fluttershy, for a reason the assassin still couldn't pin down, still wouldn't look at the assassin, or from what he could tell, she was looking at him whenever he was looking somewhere else but looked away when he looked at her; Scootaloo seemed to be reframing from saying anything about the act Blood Moon had pulled earlier; Rarity had yet to start on her repairs to the assassin's things, much to his relief given the young here; Sand Stalker joined after a while, sitting on a chair next to the window and watching them all like a desert eagle; and Twilight wouldn't let him leave her side the whole time. By the time Luna had raised the moon, and they were winding down for the day, sleeping arrangements had already been established; Applejack, Applebloom, Rarity, Sweetie-Belle and Pinkie Pie slept on Applejack's bed, the largest of the three, the sisters hugging their sisters lovingly; Fluttershy, Rainbowdash and Scootaloo slept on Fluttershy's bed, Rainbow holding Scootaloo like Applejack and Rarity held their sisters; Spike slept in his basket, which Blood Moon had fetched for him; Twilight and Blood Moon slept together, holding each other in their hooves, an act that drew no small amount of 'dawww's from the others in the room, even Rainbowdash and Scootaloo, Hunter perched on the bed post on Blood Moon's side while the mouse lay in a small bed made from some loose hay the assassin had found; while Sand Stalker sat in the hoof-chair he had brought from down stairs. Before long, light were out and the small family like group of ponies had fallen to sleep.

**A/N: New chapter. Long Chapter. Clop chapter. More. Fight Chapter. Feels chapter. Lols chapter. Floor.**

**So, as you can see, new chap. YAY. I also have an announcement from me and SonicTheEchidna; we're doing a fic together, yeah, me and him, Blaze and Blood Moon. More yays. Look out for Everlasting Duties on his (at least I think he's a he) account. So, on that note**

**Productive faffer out.**


	17. Laying low

Chapter seventeen: Laying low

Twilight Sparkle woke up first; covered by her bed's sheets, head resting on her pillow and comfortable in the hooves of Blood Moon. She ginned to herself; in the hooves of her coltfriend. She looked up at him, noticing that he seemed much more peaceful than when she had found him yesterday; he slept calmly, holding her gently, was breathing softly and had his head bowed against his chest, as though he was looking over her. She smiled softly and cozied up to him, holding him with her own fore-legs and nuzzling his chest. She had to ask herself; _how had it lead to this? _She'd known this stallion for six days, two of which she'd known him as nothing but a killer and none of which when nothing was really happening; Blood Moon was nothing if not a magnet for outstanding events. Over the days she'd known him he'd killed for, protected, trained and took care of her and all her friends. They'd been through so much together in such a short amount of time, and she had no idea why. But what she did know is that she didn't care about anything bad he may have done in the past, not any more, he was a good stallion at heart. He just had a bit of a temper, is all. She wondered about that; he seemed to be able to get worked up about some pretty small things now and then, yesterday's 'cherry incident' was proof enough of that; he was also very touchy about some things, his relation to and how he had left Celestia and Luna, for instance. She'd have to ask him more about that. Then there was the voice that was in his head, and the way that he felt there was no consequence to it, almost like he didn't mind it; he most likely didn't, after all, he'd told her not to worry about it. She gazed over his scared and wrinkled face; it struck her that her special somepony wasn't some handsome blueblood, she wasn't the type of mare to go purely on looks but with the type of attention she'd got in Canterlot (or at least, what she'd been told she'd got, she'd been busy with and cooped up with studying at the time) she'd simply assumed that she'd be paired off with one of them sooner or later, not a heavily disfigured, immortal assassin. And you know what? She didn't care on bit; in fact, she preferred it like this, had she started dating one of the nobles she would likely have been nothing but a stepping stone for them to reach royalty, Blood Moon at least treated her like a mare and not an object or a tool for personal gain. Twilight looked up at her coltfriend; he knew the hardships of life, he was ready and willing to work, put others before himself, acted recklessly when his own safety was concerned but protected the one's he cared for. He was a stallion who she was willing to love. She blinked.

A stallion she _did _love.

It took her from the left wing that this stallion who held her, who she held back, was somepony she considered more than a friend, and then, more than that. She _loved _him. Her heart fluttered as the thought crossed her mind. She loved an assassin. It fluttered again. And she didn't care what he was, all's she cared about was that she had met a stallion and she loved him. She felt Blood Moon move; she looked up as she watched him frown and murmur to himself, before his eyes blinked open; he squeezed them together against the rays of sun light that had managed to creep through the curtains, casting cracks of light into the room, and yawned before he looked down at the mare in his grip, smiling upon sight of her. Her thoughts from a second ago still fresh in her mind, Twilight reached up and quietly pushed her lips to his, engaging him in the most passionate kiss she could muster and smiled back at the stallion that held her when her lips left his.

"Morning" he said softly, still sounding groggy. He held her closer, hugging her tighter, and kissed the top of her head.

"Morning" she replied, before yawning to herself and resting her head against his chest again. She listened to his heartbeat and felt his breath against her mane; she closed her eyes and relaxed against him for a few minutes. She noticed that she rather liked being held by him, it was comfortable, warm. Then it felt hot; she frowned as she felt a heat against her stomach.

"Ah, damn it" she heard the assassin quietly curse. She looked down to see the head of his member peeking between their stomachs, twitching slightly. The mare looked up at him, sighing sadly as she did, grinning and shaking her head at him.

"What am I going to do with you" she asked him. He shrugged with a small, sheepish, grin on his face.

"I could name a few things, but I'm fairly sure you'd slap me rather than go along with it" he answered. Twilight giggled and blushed slightly.

"Yeah, you may be right there" she told him, poking the tip of his stallionhood with her hoof, making its owner shudder slightly.

"Don't play with the hidden blade unless you want to get stabbed" he muttered, Twilight catching his muttered innuendo. She tapped his chest in playful punishment before she leaned into him again.

"Blood Moon."

"Yeah?" Twilight looked up at him, considering what she should say next.

"I…I. I'm…glad you asked me out." Blood Moon picked up on her hesitation but let it go. He smiled and hugged her tighter again.

"Me too." Twilight relaxed into his hold, but inwardly she cursed herself; when she had been younger she'd wondered what the adults meant by 'love is a dangerous word'. It was now she understood what they meant. She looked down at his stallionhood again.

"You should put that away" she nuzzled him again "we're not alone today" she added playfully. He grinned as he shifted his thoughts, frowning before he looked down.

"Huh, it ain't working" he supplied.

"Well get rid of it, I think the others are waking up" she told him, looking around. The assassin nodded and rolled away from Twilight, causing her to whine a little, and deprive his stallionhood of female contact. After a few seconds of tenting the sheets, it slowly went flaccid and hid away. "Are we gonna have to deal with that every morning" Twilight asked him, draping her left fore-leg over his chest as his own snuck under her and pulled her against his body.

"Depends on if we'd slept together the night before" he answered. The mare giggled and relaxed against him, settling into a companionable silence together. Before long, they heard the sound of the others waking up, a few scattered yawns and the grumbled sounds of an awakening pony following. "Alright" the assassin groaned "head count. Who's up?"

"Morning darling" Rarity answered sleepily.

"Mornin' pardner" Applejack called, sounding just as tired.

"Mrgner" Rainbowdash mumbled.

"Morning" Fluttershy whispered.

"Good morning" Pinkie Pie sung, sounding way too awake for somepony who had just awoke.

"_Morning_" Sand Stalker growled out in Arabic.

"_Rise with the sun, friend_" Blood Moon called back, speaking the merc's native language.

"Morning" the cutie mark crusaders said at once, some sounding more awake than others.

"Hunter, you good buddy" the assassin asked his bird, who cawed in response. He then turned to the mouse. "How about you little guy?" The small black mouse sat on his haunches and nodded at him. "Spike, how 'bout you?". The drake snored, spluttered and jolted awake.

"Ah, evil windows, stay back I-I…huh?"

"Morning Spike" Twilight said, leaning over the side of her bed, tussling his spines.

"Oh, hey, morning" he responded before he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Alright that's everypony" the assassin muttered, more for himself than the others. He stood up, causing Twilight to whine quietly again. "Ok, first things first; who can cook, besides Fluttershy you made food yesterday."

"I'll cook" Spike told him.

"Awesome" Blood Moon muttered in response, trotting over to the door. "We-scratch that-you can make breakfast and then we'll… I don't know, see how the day goes and react accordingly" he said as Spike padded over to him, still looking drowsy. Once the two had departed, Sand Stalker stood and, still looking like death, left them.

"Gonna get some air" he muttered as he left. None of them argued, knowing that the elderly merc could get as fiery as Blood Moon, and with a lot less pause for warning. They all sat in silence for a while, still waking up and getting the sleep out of their systems. Before long, Rainbowdash spoke up.

"So Twilight" she started with a grin "sleep well?" The bookish mare didn't let the question faze her.

"Why yes Rainbowdash, I slept very well, thank you" she answered. Applejack chuckled.

"With that colour in yer cheeks, Twi, ah don't doubt it" Applejack commented. Rarity giggled.

"I'll say, why darling, I've never seen you so radiant" she tells her. Twilight sat up and smiled at her friends.

"Thanks girls, I mean it, thanks. I gotta say, Blood Moon's really comfortable to sleep with" she told them. The mares giggled and the fillies looked at each other, blushes on their faces. They sat in silence for a while until Rarity spoke up again.

"Girls, if I may be so bold, I do believe we should wash ourselves" she said "after all, we did spend part of yesterday in the Everfree forest" she added. The mares in the room all subtly smelt themselves, agreeing with Rarity soon after. The elements of harmony, plus little sisters, all made their way to Fluttershy's bathroom; once there they set about cleaning each other off, Applejack cleaning off Applebloom; Rarity, Sweetie-Belle; and Rainbowdash, Scootaloo, the two of which acting more boisterously, Rainbow nuggying the giggling Scoots to clean her mane. After a while, the fillies and Rainbowdash decided that they'd had enough and dried themselves off, leaving the others to clean themselves.

Downstairs, Blood Moon was stood in the kitchen with Spike, watching the drake in an impressed awe as he moved around the room, picking out ingredients, bringing them to his workplace and slowly turning a bunch of different elements into perfect pancakes. He swore he could smell a feint…something in the air but couldn't put his hoof on it. While he was setting up the final touches to his breakfast, the dragon spoke up.

"So, uhhh, you and Twilight, huh?" The assassin looked the dragon in the eye as he glanced at him.

"Yes" he answered simply. Spike stopped with his preparations and turned to the dark stallion. He looked at him with little emotion in his gaze, but the assassin could see the glare hidden behind it. He cocked his head to the side. "Why, you have a problem with it?" The dragon didn't answer; instead he just kept on looking at him with that emotionless stare. Blood Moon leaned up off of the sideboard he had been leaning on and trotted over to the drake, Spike feeling the cold air gather around him as he got closer. "You're a dragon Spike, you live for yourself, which means you protect everything close to you; gems, mates and your friends. Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbowdash and Pinkie Pie are all your friends, ergo, they are close to you. It's natural you'd want to protect them." He stopped but a meter away from the drake, who was now holding back a gulp. The assassin leaned in and narrowed his eyes. "My loyalty is seconded only by the love I hold for the ones close to me. I respect the dragons, ergo I respect you, but you must understand that Twilight is more than a simple friend to me now, and I plan to treat her as such. She is an element of harmony, the element of magic, she needs all the protection she can get; be it her dragon assistant or the assassin who is now her coltfriend." He backed off and sighed. "Listen, I don't need to make an enemy of you, nor do I desire to, so either we form a truce or things get awkward between us." Spike looked the assassin up and down; he didn't know exactly what he'd done but he knew it wasn't anything good, that said, Twilight trusted him, and he trusted his big sister/mother's judgment. With a slight hesitation, he held his claw out for him and the stallion took it, shaking it as they put aside their differences for the one they cared for most. The assassin gave a lopsided smile that the drake returned, hoof/claw bumping him as they disconnected. The stallion backed off after that, their peace made, and retired to the side of the room. After a while a thought passed through his head; he sniffed his leg-pit, smelling the-

'_Did my muzzle just shrivel up and die?'_

"…"

'_Hey, you okay?'_

"_I'm pretty sure I just died."_

'_Screw you; they're your pits too.'_

"_Yeah, yeah; just get a shower before you kill some of the critters."_

'_Whatever.'_

Blood Moon straightened up again, heading for the doorway. He looked back at the drake who was still cooking before he left him, heading for the bathroom; he trotted up and pushed through the door, stopping at the mirror and looking at it. He took to staring down the dark, buck ugly, stallion that looked back at him.

Off to the side, Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the elements of harmony stood in complete silence, watching the stallion trot nonchalantly into the bathroom and stare into the mirror with hatred in his expression, not noticing any of them. They watched as he ran a hoof over his stubbly chin and through his greasy mane, before he rested back on all four hooves and shake his head at his reflection disapprovingly. His horn glowed and one of his swords floated in; with two expert swipes across his face, a few hairs fell from his face and into the sink. He grinned as he floated his sword out of the room, running his hoof over his now cleanly shaved chin. His smile was dropped quickly however.

"Well, isn't that a face only a mother can love" he muttered to himself. He relaxed his neck muscles and his horn thudded against the mirror, rocking side to side. "How you managed to get a mare like Twilight I'll never know Hunter" he told himself, hitting his head against the mirror. He groaned to himself, his temporary insanity passing through his system as he continued to beat his head against the glass. He straightened up and sighed, turning on the tap and letting the water fall through; his horn glowed and an orb of water filled steadily in mid-air before it floated up over his head before he let it drop over himself. Twilight gulped at the sight of the soaked stallion; she knew that mares generally looked more attractive when wet (by ten present if her math was correct) but she had never expected to see a stallion in such a state. She had to admit; she didn't mind it. All around her, the other mares were having similar reactions; Rarity was blushing with wide eyes, full of desire, a line of drool running from her maw; Applejack was eyeing the stallion all over shamelessly, red hiding beneath her freckles; Pinkie Pie was looking at him with curiosity and other mixed emotions she couldn't put her hoof on, but definitely liked the way they made her tingle; while Fluttershy had started getting wet again and had to restrain herself from repeating yesterday's events. The animal caretaker, after yesterday's activates, was easily the most aroused of the five sat in her bathtub, letting out a small squeak as she watched the assassin tense and relax his muscles as he tried to release some tension. He blinked when he heard the noise, looking up and slowly, hesitantly, he turned his head to the point he'd heard the small noise originate from and spotted all five sopping wet mares, still fresh from the shower they were in the process of taking and blushing heavily. He looked over their shimmering, glistening bodies and felt the heat run to his loins, his member standing to full attention at the sight of five of the most highly attractive mares he'd ever seen but a meter away from him. His cock twitched in the direction of the bathtub, where it knew it could find some company, as he tried to form words but his erection was hogging all the blood, turning his thinking power to doing little more than just staring at them.

"B-Blood Moon" Twilight asked, hoping they hadn't broken him somehow. The stallion swallowed and his lower jaw hung open.

"I-I should really do the gentlecoltly thing and leave, but I REALLY don't want to" he told them, drool running from his own maw as he continued to stare at them. It was the same as a deer in the train-lights; none of them could do anything, none of them could think or react. They just stood there, staring at one another; though, to be more accurate, the mares were taking in his well-endowed member, while he was wishing one or two of them were turned around, then again, the old 'wet look' had always been a bit of a weakness for him. Their respective silence continued until Rarity spoke up.

"Well, why don't you join us, darling?" Every set of disbelieving and wide sets of eyes were instantly on Rarity, the mares giving her a 'WHAT' look and the stallion with a 'where'd that come from' expression on his face. Rarity looked around at the mares she called friends. "It's the least we can do after all he's done for us" she insisted. Applejack had a look on her face that argued with the seamstress but, ever the terrible liar, everypony could see through it; Fluttershy had a cute pink blush on her face but made sure to offer no argument; Pinkie Pie was, as ever, grinning impossibly at the whole situation, either oblivious to the situation or quite pleased with the idea of bathing with a stallion; Twilight was glancing between Rarity and Blood Moon with a split mind as, on the one hoof she agreed with her friend whole-heartedly and wanted her coltfriend to jump in the tub with them right now so she could show just how much she appreciated what he was doing for her and her friends, but on the other hoof, she'd rather it was just him and her in here. The assassin was still trying to comprehend what he'd just been asked.

"_Please, please, please, please, please, please, PLEASE say yes. If you don't I'm gonna tear you apart from the inside."_

Blood Moon was, admittedly, leaning towards complying with Rarity and joining five of the most beautiful mares in existence but his first move was to glance at Twilight. She caught his look and looked down in thought; she bit her lip and glanced up, nodding at him as she did. The dark stallion grinned and nodded back at her, graciously, and trotted slowly over.

"Sure, if none of you mind" he answered. In response Rarity and Applejack grinned, Fluttershy's blush intensified, Pinkie Pie's giant smile turned playful and Twilight looked like she was a mix of Rarity and Applejack's expression, grinning and blushing. The five mares made room for the assassin, watching as he climbed in. They then took positions; Rarity sat behind him, leaning on the back of the bath with the stallion between her legs (which, unbeknownst to the other mares, aroused her massively) rubbing his shoulders and back; Twilight sat on his chest, moving her soaped up hooves around his chest, his still erect stallionhood mere inches away from her plot; Pinkie Pie and Applejack took his hind-legs, neither of which minded because Applejack could now admire his powerful muscles and Pinkie Pie because she found herself not minding what she got, just as long as she got to be in the same tub as him; and Fluttershy was left with his lower torso…and staring at his cock.

The mares took to washing him off, some giggling, most blushing, all a little wet (and not from the bath water) and Twilight making idle conversation while she sat on his front and scrubbed his chest.

"You girls are too kind to me" he told them as he relaxed, feeling his tense muscles unwind after a few days of battle, espionage and little chance to rest. Behind him Rarity, who was demonstrating some damn good skill in massaging, smiled warmly.

"As I said, it's the least we could do. After all, your muscles are so tense I'm surprised you could walk, never mind fight or even go shopping yesterday" she said, kneading her hooves into his shoulder and upper back, causing him to growl in satisfaction and lean his head back onto her, looking up at her as she looked down.

"You're good at this" he complemented, really getting into this and melting into her. Above him, Twilight grinned as she watched the assassin turn to putty in their hooves; she continued moving her hooves over him, as he did the same with his own, washing off his marefriend's chest. Twilight caught his eye and held his gaze with a grin on both their muzzles as she moved her efforts lower down his body and closer to her own, leading his gaze to her marehood where he couldn't rip it away, making Twilight blush cutely and prompting Rarity to look at the bookish mare, who felt her gaze and looked up at her to catch her wink. Behind Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were moving their soaped up hooves up and down the stallion's hind legs, getting dangerously close to the throbbing, twitching stallionhood. The whole thing; massage on his back, marefriend on his front and hooves getting too close to his stallionhood, did nothing to kill the boner that he had been vainly trying to kill.

Fluttershy who had been sat between his legs, the space between her own growing extremely moist and not because of the water in her bathtub, was still staring at the assassin's member; her lower jaw was hung low with no chance of being raised, a trail of drool still running from her maw. She felt her mind wandering; wondering what the stallionhood in front of her tasted like, wondering what it would feel like in her maw, imagining her lips moving around it and its owner groaning and her friends around her gasping and…wait, she wasn't imagining this.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie had seen it first, the butter yellow caretaker leaning forwards, her tongue peeking out and a strand of saliva dripping from it and onto the big, black stallionhood in front of her. She nudged Twilight's damp tail out of the way, and act that attracted her attention just as her hot and steamy breath hit his hard wanting penis. Twilight had turned and spotted Fluttershy just as she wrapped her wanting lips around his dick. This prompted a surprised gasp of pleasure from Blood Moon, a shocked gasp from Applejack and Pinkie, a whispered 'oh my gosh' from Twilight and a moan of pleasure from her that sent erotic vibrations through his stallionhood. The mare closed her eyes as she bobbed her head up and down, taking him in, moving up, suckling on his head and going back down to deep throat him again. As her friends watched in silent disbelief, she used her hooves to stroke herself as she wrapped her tongue around his rod, moving it up and down around him as she continued to suck him off. The assassin was beginning to relax into this whole ordeal, which surprised him but he wasn't going to argue against. That was until he realised Twilight was still sat on him. The mare in question looked back at the stallion, her with eyes that were wide and dazed from the whole ordeal and him with a look that demanded to know what was happening. Turning back to Fluttershy, Twilight finally found her voice.

"F-Fluttershy, w-what are you doing?" Fluttershy gave a cute and innocent 'hmm' as she opened her eyes and looked up, disengaging her blow-job, letting her tongue linger on him as she pulled her mouth away, as strand of saliva connecting her maw to his maleness.

"What? I'm not doing anything." Her eyes widened and a blush, rather literally, exploded across her face as she realised what she'd just done, right in front of her friends to boot. Right in front of Twilight; the stallionhood's owner's _marefriend. _ She darted out of the bath, taking to the air and hovering a distance above the floor as she pushed her hind-legs together and put her fore-hooves to her mouth in shock.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh. Twilight, Blood Moon I'm SO sorry, I-I didn't realise what I was" she landed and hid her face behind her hooves, crying into them. "Please, I'm so sorry, I-I." She didn't finish, instead she took to the air once more and flew out of her bathroom, bawling to herself the whole way. The mares and stallion watched in disbelief the path she had taken; Blood Moon with wide eyes and gobsmacked at what had just happened, quickly going flaccid in his shocked aftermath; Twilight with just as much disbelief as her coltfriend, and wondering, nay, demanding what in the hay had just happened; Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were looking on with, unsurprisingly, just as much disbelief as the other two. After a few minutes of silence, the assassin spoke up.

"I've never been one to ask stupid or obvious questions but, it's times like these that make me appreciate just how unavoidable they can be. And on that note; what, in the everlasting buck and the eternal plains of Tartarus, just happened" he demanded of nopony in particular. The rest stayed silent for a while before Rarity spoke up.

"I…I think you just got treated by Fluttershy" she told him, still awestruck "w-well, she did say she was trying to be more assertive." The response made Blood Moon hang his head.

"That's what I was afraid of" he admitted. He used his magic to lift Twilight off of him and placed her on her hooves, getting out and standing next to her. "I'm sorry I didn't react sooner" he told her, feeling ashamed that he hadn't done anything to stop the mare. Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, it's not your fault" she said, not wanting him to stress about this. The other three got out of the tub, drained the water, and dried themselves off; something that should have been much lighter hearted but was a more depressing act after the events not a minute ago. The four of them then trotted back to Fluttershy's room and found Rainbowdash and the CMC stood outside, looking worried.

"What's going on" the stallion asked, the down tone in his voice not lost on any of them. Rainbow answered.

"Fluttershy flew in and kicked us out. She was crying and said something about being sorry. What happened?" The assassin grunted and said nothing, scratching the back of his head and looking at Twilight.

"I'll tell you later" she said, motioning at the fillies, Rainbow getting the picture. With a sigh, she approached the door, knocking on it with her hoof. "Fluttershy, you in there? Are you okay" she asked.

"Go away" a teary sounding Fluttershy called back. Blood Moon sighed, shaking his head.

"We've gotta get in there" he said. Him and Twilight concentrated their magic and pictured the inside of Fluttershy's room. It didn't work. "Damn, she doesn't want us in there" he muttered. The rest of the mares looked confused, so Twilight explained as the stallion set to work on picking the lock.

"If somepony doesn't want you in a room badly enough, and with the right emotions say, desperation or fear, or if the room is enchanted against it, a unicorn can't teleport in there" she told them, finishing as the last tumbler fell into place. The assassin turned to the mares.

"Twilight, you and me should talk to her, the rest of you, stay out here" he instructed. The mares nodded, Twilight stepping forwards as she did, and entered the room; inside they could hear the feint sound of a crying Fluttershy, who they found curled up in a corner, shaking as more sobs came from her. Twilight gulped as she trotted carefully forwards and put a hoof on her friend's shoulder.

"Please, leave me alone" she wept. It broke both Twilight's and Blood Moon's heart to see her like this. The assassin sighed.

"Fluttershy" he began, unsure where to take this "why did you do that?" The teary eyed mare looked over her shoulder.

"I-I don't know. I just…did, I couldn't stop myself, I didn't even realise what I was doing until Twilight said my name" she told them. She took to weeping again for a few minutes, Blood Moon and Twilight sitting by, watching her with sad expressions on their faces.

Twilight didn't know what to make of all this, she'd never known that Fluttershy could get like that, or if she even knew about that sort of stuff, what with her being so innocent and all. After witnessing the heart-breaking and soul shredding image of Fluttershy crying for far too long, Twilight decided that this was something that Fluttershy and Blood Moon needed to work out between them, if her theory about why this had happened was correct.

"Fluttershy" Twilight spoke up, leaning in to her friend "it's okay, I forgive you." The butter yellow mare looked over her shoulder again, tears still in her eyes and staining her face; she looked at her friend incredulously before she leapt up and wrapped her friend in a hug, coming close to squeezing the life out of her.

"Thank you Twilight, I'm sorry it's just" she paused again, filling her lull of words with a tightening of her hug. Twilight was hugging her back, smiling into her shoulder but was quickly turning blue.

"F-Fluttershy… air" she called out. The mare quickly released her, looking sheepish.

"S-sorry about that" she mumbled. She glanced at the stallion, who was looking on with a raised eyebrow, and looked at the floor bashfully. The assassin cocked his head to the side.

"Fluttershy, I do have to ask though, why did you do that" he asked of her, genuinely curios of her answer. Fluttershy looked up at him, blushing heavily.

"I-I don't know, honestly, it just…sort of felt like the right thing to do at the time. I'm sorry." The assassin loosed a breath, looking to the celling for answers.

"Ahhh, don't worry about it" he told her, a smile on his face as he tussled Fluttershy's mane, prompting the mare to smile back. He opened his fore-legs with a smile. "Hug it out?" Fluttershy smiled back, moving into his embrace. The stallion wrapped his hooves around her and pulled her into his chest, getting a nose full of her strawberry-scented mane. The mare wrapped her own under his, nuzzling his chest drying her tears on his fur. Besides them, Twilight smiled.

"I'm gonna leave you two to settle this yourselves" she told them as she trotted away. When she'd left them, the assassin let go of Fluttershy and sat on one of the beds, patting the space next to him, offering the seat to the mare.

"So" he began "it 'just felt right' did it?" Fluttershy blushed and looked at the floor.

"I-I don't know what came over me, it's just…when you did your 'toxin examination' yesterday, I was feeling a little funny afterwards and, well, you know what I did" she said. The assassin raised an eyebrow.

"Is that it? It was just me-"

"It wasn't just a medical thing for me" she interrupted "I've never been touched by a stallion that way before, I'm always too nervus or something to even try and approach somepony I like. But then, when I was sat there, with your…umm, thing in my face I just couldn't resist, I didn't think I'd ever have another chance like that again" she told him. The two sat in silence for a while after that, Blood Moon considering what she had just told him, when a thought occurred to him.

"Hey, Fluttershy" she looked up at him "Twilight told me that she'd never really had a coltfriend before, and you just said that you hadn't either; have any of you ever been in a relationship before?" The butter yellow mare thought about it.

"Me, Twilight and Pinkie haven't before, I think Rarity has dated a few stallions before but none of them really lasted for more than a month. Applejack spent a year or two in Manehatten as a filly, and doesn't really talk much about what happened, she may have had a coltfriend there but I know she's never had one in Ponyville before. Rainbowdash…I don't really know, she hasn't had a coltfriend in Ponyville or in Cloudsdale, but I'm not sure if she'd really…exclusive to stallions" she answered. The assassin nodded, grinning to himself slightly, looking over the mare.

"Why not? You're all real pretty and are great mares to know, I don't understand why none of you have ever had a coltfriend before" he told her. After thinking about it for a while he shrugged. "Their loss I guess" he said.

"I guess so" the mare murmured before she looked around the otherwise empty room and scooted a little closer to the stallion. "Uh, umm, Blood Moon" she whispered. The assassin hummed his listening as she leaned in.

"Yeah?" Fluttershy blushed and looked at her hooves.

"H-how was it, I mean the-the…you know." The stallion grunted a laugh, but decided to give her a boost in confidence. He leaned into her with a grin on his face.

"Almost wish it never ended" he told her, technically not lying to her. The mare squeaked and blushed. Blood Moon chuckled at her reaction, the two sitting in silence for a while until they heard the sound of Spike's voice.

"Hey, guys, breakfast is ready" he called, reminding the dark stallion that he'd left him making pancakes and prompting his stomach to rumble. The two got off the bed and trotted downstairs, finding the other mares and fillies already sat at the table and Spike in a chef's hat, serving up his creation.

'_Where in Tartarus did he get that hat' _was the assassin's only thought as he sat between Twilight and Scootaloo. The group of ponies, minus Sand Stalker, sat in relative silence most of the time, Fluttershy earning glances from all her friends, Spike looking between them all wondering what was up and the assassin grinning at the awkwardness of the situation. The butter yellow mare glanced at Blood Moon and Twilight every now and then, wishing she was in Twilight's position. Fifteen minute later and they had finished with their food and settled into the front room, making idle conversation, some with cider in glasses next to them. Hunter and the mouse had joined them before long and sat with the assassin, Hunter on the back of the sofa he was sat on and the mouse on his head, reclining into his mane.

"Are gonna name him" Twilight asked looking at the black mouse "he seems to have taken a liking to you, and you him" she added. The mouse leapt off his head and stood on the side of the seat, Blood Moon looked at the arm of the sofa, finding the mouse looking back at him.

"What do you think" the stallion asked him. The mouse shrugged. "How about…" He looked over the mouse, trying to come up with a name for him as he scratched between the little critter's ears. "Dusk" he suggested, looking at Twilight as he said it, getting his idea behind the name and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I like it" she told him. The mouse put a paw to his chin before he nodded happily and climbed back onto the assassin's head.

"Well, he seems to have his favourite perch" he commented. The group of ponies settled into silence again, more idle conversation passing between them. After a while, Blood Moon felt himself drifting off, and was about to fall asleep when Sand Stalker burst through the door with a bunny on his back, looking pissed off and alarmed; Fluttershy looked up in alarm at his sudden entrance, flying over to him and the white rabbit. The mustard stallion moved to the window and stood beside it as Fluttershy picked up the bunny.

"Angle Bunny" she exclaimed, holding the rabbit Blood Moon recognised as the one who had worn the army helmet. "What's wrong" she asked, motherly concern completely washing over her as she held her pet. The dark stallion was more interested in the merc's reaction.

"I'll tell you what's wrong" he hissed, motioning for them to approach the window. The assassin was there first, creeping over and peering out; out there he saw a pair of stallions, one in gold armour, and the other in gold and purple, they looked to be talking to each other. "We've got company" the elderly stallion finished. Twilight got to the window next, brightening up when she looked outside.

"Shining Armour" she exclaimed before the assassin clamped a hoof over her maw and pulled her away from the window. Unbeknownst to them, the guard Capitan had glanced at the window, shrugging when he saw nothing.

"You know him" Blood Moon asked. The mare nodded.

"Yeah, he's only like my B.B.B.F.F." she explained. The assassin blinked at the lack of information he'd just received. Twilight rolled her eyes. "My 'big brother best friend forever', why can nopony ever figure that out?" The assassin squeezed his eyes shut and opened them wide when she explained it to him properly.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Your brother, your big brother, who, if past experiences are anything to go by, will be very protective of you, is the mother-bucking GUARD CAPTAIN, and you never thought to tell me, you're a) coltfriend and b) an assassin that Celestia hates. My math is as follows: a big brother tends to look after his little sister, ergo, kills every coltfriend she brings home and a guard Capitan is allowed and authorized to put down any and all who stand against Celestia. I, at the moment, stand against her." He sat down, leaning against the wall, running a hoof over his face. "I just know me and him are gonna get along _famously_" he droned, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Twilight grinned but didn't laugh, the tension didn't allow it.

"Uh-oh" Sand Stalker muttered, he was peeking over the sill and watching the events going on outside.

"What" the assassin responded.

"Twilight, your brother is coming to visit" he said as he leaned back down. Twilight didn't look bothered.

"That's good, I can talk to him and find out what happened." Blood Moon shook his head.

"No, that won't work, I…'spoke' to one of Hardhoof's guards and he told me that the orders had come directly from Shining Armour. I know you trust your brother but I'm not willing to risk it" he told her. The dark stallion turned to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, can you talk to him, get rid of him?" The mare squeaked and held her confused looking bunny in front of her. The stallion trotted up to her. "Come on 'Shy, we need you right now, you're our only chance of getting out of this" he told her. The mare looked to her friends for support; Twilight was stood with the assassin; Sand Stalker was still looking out the window, growing more and more pissed by the second; Rainbowdash and her other friends were looking at her with pleading eyes; but it was the wide, fearful eyes of the cutie mark crusaders that swayed her in the end.

"Ok" she conceded quietly, landing and putting her pet bunny on the ground beside her. The assassin smiled at her bravery and put a hoof on her shoulder.

"I'll be there with you every step of the way" he reassured her before he looked at the rest of the room's occupancy. "The rest of you, head up stairs while Fluttershy deals with this" he told them. They did as they were told, Twilight pecking him on the cheek as she passed him by.

"Good luck, I know Shining and he's smarter than he looks. Don't underestimate him" she whispered. The stallion nodded and grinned.

"What, you forget our pillow talk already" he asked, making Twilight grin back and kiss him on the lips quickly before she left them.

The elements of harmony, little sisters and Sand Stalker headed up and into the bed room, hiding up there and trying to listen in, but even when they strained their hearing they couldn't make out what was being said. Shining Armour had begun knocking on the door, prompting the assassin to hide behind it as the mare opened it.

"Fluttershy, hey there" the guard Capitan greeted brightly.

"Hello there Shining Armour, what brings you here" she asked, obviously nervus about what was going on.

"I'm looking for a platoon of guards, last I heard they were around the Everfree palace, but I'm looking all over just in case" he told her. He suddenly looked like she'd remembered something. "Oh, and have you seen Twilight? I was at the library just now and I couldn't find her, not even Spike was there." Fluttershy froze up as she tried to think of an answer, her mind going blank. The assassin couldn't say or do anything besides cringe; he hadn't had the chance to go over a story with her, and Fluttershy didn't seem the type to think up elaborate stories on the spot. He, however, was and thought fast, formulating a plan. In the end he went with the 'desperate time' procedure. His horn glowed softly as he built the spell and fuelled it with magic; a shroud of near invisible grey mist flew from his horn, flowing around Fluttershy and seeping into her pours and mind. The assassin's body went limp as he possessed Fluttershy. For the mare, she had just had one of the most unusual experiences of her life; she felt a presence in the back of her mind, but it wasn't like an invading presence more like a well-mannered sir that knocked on the door and asked her if she would be alright with sitting in the corner for a few minutes, maybe reading a good book, while he took over her body for a second. She liked this voice, he was very polite. In the end, she obliged and let the presence takeover her body, sitting in a corner on a comfy chair and putting her hind-legs up and read one of her favourite books 'the call of the wild'.

Shining watches this with a raised eyebrow; to him Fluttershy freezes up, sways as if about to fall asleep and then stands up perfectly straight like nothing had happened.

"Umm, Fluttershy, are you okay" he asks, feeling concerned for the animal caretaker. The mare brushes him off.

"No, I'm fine, just a little tired from looking after a sick vulture is all. Anyway, I think Twilight and everypony went to Manehatten for the day, I'd have gone with them but, y'know, the vulture" she/he explained. The guard Capitan blinked.

"Oh, ok, I'm gonna keep looking around for them, if you see them tell them to report in, will you?" The mare nodded.

"Alright, I'll see you later. When I see Twilight I'll let her know you were here" Fluttershy told him in way of farewell. The stallion nodded, a sceptical eyebrow raised, and trotted away. He knew something was up with her but couldn't put his hoof on it.

Back inside the house, Blood Moon released his spell; as he did so, Fluttershy blinked herself back into Equestria as she closed the door. Once she'd done so, she saw Blood Moon sitting on his flank, eyes wide and disbelieving. The mare feared the worst.

"Uhh, Blood Moon, what was that?" The assassin didn't look at her.

"It was a possession, highly advanced spell and difficult to pull off. It temporarily puts my mind into yours, letting me control your actions and access… some of your… thoughts" he said, eyeing the door beneath the stairs. Fluttershy gasped and put her hooves to her mouth.

"Nonononono" she panicked. Blood Moon lunged for the door, Fluttershy following him and grabbing his hind-legs in an attempt to stop him from finding her stash. "Please…please stop, there's nothing in there, I promise" she pleaded as she tried to drag him away from the door.

"Yes…there…is" he managed to grunt out as he dragged himself towards the door, using only his for-hooves. He turned over, putting himself on his back and managed to, gently, kick her off him and gallop for the door. Once he reached it, he tested the door; locked. The stallion looked around to see Fluttershy flying towards him, attempting to grab him again, so he teleported her away from him and back across the room where she continued flying for him. He continued this as he franticly pulled his picks from his mane (what, you thought Pinkie was the only one who could do that) and set to work on picking the lock. He franticly moved his hooves around as he worked the door, periodically teleporting the mare away from him as she was about to reach him. The assassin eventually managed to pick the lock and flung the door open; in his shock at the contents, he forgot to teleport Fluttershy away from him and she slammed into his back, sending them both flying into her secret stash of sex toys and bondage equipment. A mountain of dildos, tight mock-leather garbs, vibrators ,whips, hoof-cuffs, ball-gags and strap-on's fell onto them. The assassin had frozen up while Fluttershy had squeezed her eyes shut, wishing it all away as she held the stallion in a vain attempt to stop him. Blood Moon swallowed once, daring to lower his gaze to the things that surrounded him; it wasn't that she owned this sort of thing that got him, it was the sheer _amount _of them.

'_It's always the quiet ones.'_

"Nonononono" she repeated as she scooped up all her toys, pushed Blood Moon out of the way, crammed them in there and locked the door behind her. She looked left and right, biting her lower lip, and put her back to the door, holding it shut, despite the lock being engaged. "Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease don't tell" she begged. The stallion opened his mouth to answer but couldn't, Fluttershy had grabbed him by the hoof and dragged him into the kitchen, displaying some impressive strength in the proses. "Pleeeeeease, you can't tell anypony" she told him. The stallion blinked, still a little busted from the experience.

"Fluttershy…I-I…" The mare put her face in her hooves, whining slightly but trying to hold it together. She put her hooves on his shoulders, making him look her in the eye.

"Please. You. CAN'T. Say. ANYTHING" she told him.

"Fluttershy, I-I don't…" She wrapped him in a hug, holding him close to her.

"Pleeeeeeeease Blood Moon, you can't tell anypony, I'll be ruined, humiliated! I'll do anything, I'll-I'll-" she didn't finish; instead she clamped her lips to his in an attempt to buy his silence and keep her secret under wraps. She moved her hoof down his lower body and found his stallionhood, rubbing her hoof up and down his shaft, feeling it unsheathe and harden under her skilled touch. She displayed another impressive feet of strength as she lifted him up slightly as she moved her mouth to the head and took it into her maw, taking him right down to the roots and running her tongue up and down his maleness, pleasing him massively. Blood Moon loosed a groan as Fluttershy, for the second time in a day, used her highly skilled tongue and lips to pleasure him. He closed his eyes, grinning as he put his hooves on Fluttershy's head, directing her movements and enjoying himself. He then realised what was happening.

"F-Fluttershy, stop, I can't. Twilight." He managed to pull her away from his cock, an act he was both thankful for and hated himself for. The mare tried to protest, slipping her tongue out and running it up his length, causing him to growl in ecstasy and almost let her continue with her efforts. When he managed to push her away from his, admittedly disappointed, stallionhood he put his hooves on her shoulders and held her away from her. "Fluttershy stop, please, I'm not-"She stopped him again by mashing her lips to his again, slipping her tongue in and moaning some. The stallion pulled back and held her away from him. "Fluttershy stop, now" he told her, not as gentle as before. She looked at him with tears threatening to spill, breathing hard and looking desperate.

"I'm sorry, I really am but you can't tell anypony about this. Nopony knows and I'll be humiliated if they ever found out" she told him, hugging his chest. Blood Moon stroked the back of her mane, soothing her.

"Fluttershy, don't worry about it. I won't tell anypony, nopony will ever know." The animal caretaker looked up at him.

"But you'll know" she said. The assassin grunted, amused.

"Why do you care? I won't judge you, you're too cute for that, and I personally couldn't care how you relive yourself." He paused for a while, Fluttershy knew what he was thinking about.

"Umm, did-did you see…anything else? When-when you were in my head?" Blood Moon let go of her and stood up straight, trotting to the middle of the room.

"I…I did. I found…what you got up to yesterday" he told her. Fluttershy put her face in her hooves, whining to herself in pure embarrassment. He looked to the spot she had cum on with a raised eyebrow, the thought doing nothing to kill his hard on. "You…you were doing that…while thinking about me?" The mare looked up at him, bashfully rubbing her leg with her hoof.

"I, umm, yes I guess I did." She looked at him, her gaze straying to his erect stallionhood and blushing hard. "I guess I wasn't being completely honest with you earlier" she told him "when I said 'you know what I did' I…wasn't really referring to when we were in the tub together. It was when I was in here…making…salads" she said, growing quiet towards the end. The assassin put a hoof to his chin in thought, before he stepped closer to her.

"Fluttershy…why did you think about me?" The mare hung her head before she answered.

"Why did I blow you" she asked shamelessly. "Why did I kiss you? Why did my neither regions feel so funny when I was stood next to you yesterday?" She looked up at him. "Why do I feel more confident when you're around?" She moved a little closer to him. "Why dose my heart flutter a little more every time I see you? It's the same reason I'm so jealous of Twilight right now, Blood moon, I think I love you." The stallion swallowed; he'd been expecting this but, against his better judgment, he'd hoped this wouldn't be the conclusion of her answer. He couldn't, nay, didn't want to turn her down; she was the element of kindness and she was, at least thought she was, in love with him. But he was already with Twilight and he wouldn't allow himself to betray her trust, he didn't want to, she didn't deserve it. He looked at the mare in front of him; Fluttershy was looking at the floor, heartbroken and heart breaking tears in her eyes. It was tearing him apart to see her like this, not just breaking his heart, it was shredding his soul, feeding it to the devil who would spit it out and put it through a furnace before he spat on the ashes. He couldn't bring himself to make any more moves to sadden her. He put a hoof to her chin and lifted her gaze to his.

"Fluttershy, I'm honoured that you think of me like that and I'll admit it… I don't feel the same way as I did about you this morning" he told her in a way that made her smile. "Knowing that you love me is the kind of thing that makes me glad I'm immortal, but…I'm with Twilight now, and I don't want to choose between you. You're both the type of mare I can love back but…as I said, I'm with Twilight and I'm not gonna betray her." Fluttershy looked down at the floor in shame; she'd put her own needs before her friends and potentially pulled apart her friendship because of it. The thought of Twilight defriending her pushed her back to near-tears. She pictured her lavender friend turning her back on her and almost fell into sobs again, but she couldn't as she found Blood Moon pulling her into a hug in an effort to stop her from crying again. "Fluttershy, please don't cry; I'm tougher than the average stallion but I don't think even I can stand to watch you cry anymore" he told her. She sniffled and dried her tears on his chest fur, looking up at him with slightly damp facial fur.

"I'm sorry, it's just… I'd rather have said it and got it out rather than not and you never know" she told him, nuzzling his chest as she finished. The stallion stroked her mane, petting her softly.

"That's pretty smart actually and I have to tell you… not being able to love you back properly… I don't like it." The mare looked up at him again, hope in her eyes.

"But-but you don't have to show it, it'll be our secret, nothing actually done just…you and me, knowing we love each other." The assassin shook his head.

"I don't think you'd be able to take it" he told her honestly "I don't think I would either. Let's just leave it as this." The mare, once again, looked down.

"Just-just like this, with us hugging and nothing else?" She sighed quietly to herself.

'_Ahhh, damn her and her adorableness.'_

He put her hoof to her chin and lifted her to face his again and moved in, pushing his lips to her own and meeting her in a kiss he both loved, and hated himself for. He held her close to him and rubbed her back up and down as she wrapped her fore-legs around his neck and pulled him into her. She was in heaven; he was so gentle with her and made her feel like she was the only mare in Equestria. He was better than she could ever have imagined. She groaned slightly as she slipped her tongue in, closing her eyes, as she began wrestling with his own as he turned his head to the side and pushed their muzzles together more. He pulled her in even closer and stood a little straighter, letting his long, unkempt mane cascade down and on to her a little. Fluttershy blushed as she felt his hoof go a little lower down her back. After a few minutes, but still way too short a time, Blood Moon pulled back and stood over the mare, running his hoof over her silky mane.

"That's enough" he said begrudgingly. The mare sighed sadly, running her hoof down his chest.

"I know, but, I think it… might be enough" she said breathlessly. "Blood Moon." He hummed his attention. "I love you" she told him. He didn't respond, he didn't go throwing the word 'love' around carelessly, but the way his heart beat a little faster told her what she wanted to know.

"Let's head upstairs" he said, leading her away from the kitchen and up the stairs. As they did, Twilight teleported back up from the bottom, where she'd been watching with a small, not particularly happy, but relieved smile. The butter yellow mare and dark sliver stallion made their way back upstairs, where they were met with curious gazes.

"How'd it go" Twilight asked as the assassin approached, sitting on the bed and sitting next to her.

"Fine" he said simply, pushing the mare down and meeting his lips to hers. The kiss didn't exactly take Twilight by surprise but it pleased her all he same; she guessed that her coltfriend somehow knew something wasn't quite right with him and her, and she appreciated his efforts to right things between them. She would have to tell him she didn't care about anything between him and her friends, just as long as he was doing it in their best interests; she didn't want to see her and her friends being used, she trusted Blood Moon but she wouldn't risk her friend being used like that for anypony. She suddenly realised that she was still being kissed by Blood Moon; her hooves had subconsciously drifted around the back of his neck and pulled him into her, her tongue had sneaked into his maw and begun wrestling with his, a few moans escaping her. The assassin pulled back in bemused, exited shock when he felt her hooves brush past his flank, gripping it when his tongue hit that sensitive spot. "Heeeeeey" he muttered into her ear, tempted to teleport them somewhere more private.

"Behave" she scolded him playfully, tapping his nose. Behind them, Rainbowdash cleared her throat massively.

"You two need a minute" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Twilight and Blood Moon got up, the mare of the two blushing some, and sat on the bed more sensibly. "So" she started at length, sipping on some cider in a wooden tankard. "How'd it go" she asked, repeating Twilight's question.

"He asked Fluttershy about where Hardhoof and co are. According to him they, for some reason, haven't reported in yet" he said with a grin on his face. "He was wondering where you were" he added, looking at Twilight "but Fluttershy managed to spin a story about you being in Manehatten" he said. Rainbow put her fore-leg around the butter furred mare.

"Nice one 'Shy" she complemented. The mare smiled and looked down at the sheets of the bed she was sat on, her eyes raised to the dark stallion's who smiled and winked.

"Oh, it was nothing, it just came to me" she said graciously.

"Well" Sand Stalker piped up, looking out of the window from his chair "it looks like they've gone. Disaster averted" he told them. The elements of harmony and fillies with them all sighed in relief.

"Good" the assassin added, pulling in Twilight and went to kiss her cheek, the lavender mare turning to him just as he met her fur and landing it on her unsuspecting lips.

The ponies went about to do their own things, most scattering to places Blood Moon didn't really care about as long as they stayed within the vicinity of Fluttershy's home. The hours past; some staying in the house and some stepping outside; the fillies had all gone outside to play; Rainbowdash and Applejack helped Fluttershy with a few of her animals; while Twilight settled into one of the Daring Do books, Spike snoozing next to her; while Pinkie Pie played more blackjack with Blood Moon, Hunter and Dusk, Hunter, somehow, holding his cards in his wings while Dusk made an amusing display of holding the cards that were huge on him in his tiny paws. The bird, mouse and stallion had all stuck, while Pinkie was in the proses of putting together a five card twenty-one.

"Hit me" Pinkie said. He gave her a card. "Hit me." He gave her another. "Hit me" she said again. He passed her another card, holding his hand in a magical grip as he passed her the cards with his hoof. "Alright" she sang "I'm gonna stick" she told him. The relieved their hands, the assassin had a hand of twenty, Hunter nineteen and Dusk the same number while Pinkie had…

"Uhh, Pinkie Pie, you do know you're meant to be making twenty-one, right?" The mare nodded.

"Yeah, sure I do." Blood Moon looked at his pets in confusion, who looked back in the same way.

"Then why do you have…forty-nine?" The mare threw her cards in the air with a big grin.

"Because I bust" she told him "you know the rules right?" Blood Moon face-hoofed, while off to the side, Rarity giggled.

"You always were a master at that game Pinkie" she commented, as she pulled her sewing box over to her while Blood Moon dealt again. She opened the lid and immediately, her eyes shot open in utter shock, horror and panic. She whipped her head over to the stallion, who was grinning to himself behind his cards. "You, evil stallion" she cursed at him, glaring at him. Blood Moon just kept grinning.

"Don't know what you're talking about" he told her. She grew infuriated at his reaction, a deep red blush spreading over her cheeks as her glare turned to a death stare.

"What's wrong Rarity" Pinkie asked.

"Yeah, what's got you so testy" he added with a stifled laugh. The seamstress was positively, as well as literally, fuming, a dark cloud forming over head as she bristled at him. After a second she managed to calm herself down, swallowing her rage.

"Well, I suppose I'll just have to put it to use later" she said as she slipped it discreetly into her pillow case, making the assassin chuckle and Twilight give a confused 'huh'.

"Hit me" the pink pony said. Blood Moon handed her a card while he continue smirking.

"Stick" he said.

"Me too" the mare said. They all showed their hands; Hunter, the git, had a twenty-one of a king and ace of spades; Dusk had a hand of eighteen; Blood Moon had twenty again; while Pinkie had…

"Pinkie Pie, where did you get that 'get out of jail free' card?" The mare shrugged happily. Besides her orange card with a pony prison guard on, she had; an ace, an ID mug shot of her pulling an amusing face, a business card for Sugarcube corner and a memo telling her to get some apples from Sweet apple acres. "Yeah, you bust" he told her. He put the cards that belonged in the pack back into the deck and shuffled them before he stood up. "I'm gonna get some air" he said as he trotted for the door, passing Twilight on the way out, leaning over as she kissed him while he went past.

"Love you" she murmured into his ear. Those words, those two simple words, stopped him dead in his tracks, making his heart stop and his breathing literally stop; he continued staring at her bright, wide, beautiful, purple eyes and just stopped. He could barely think either; the last time somepony had told him they loved him had been…a long while ago, and it hadn't ended well. And now Twilight was admitting the same thing? He wasn't sure how to answer her, what to say in response, how to react to her. Or did he? The ending to his last, loving, relationship had turned him wary about the subject and he didn't allow himself to go into the same standard of bond without much thought before-hoof. He was scared at how it would turn out, how it would end. "Blood Moon" Twilight asked, suddenly worried about him, and what he might be thinking and say next. He continued to look over his marefriend. His _marefriend, _who's just told him she loved him.

'_To Tartarus with the consequences.'_

His horn flashed as he teleported them both outside, around the back of Fluttershy's house; it was a nice day, maybe four in the afternoon, and the sun was casting a pleasant glow over the animal caretaker's cottage. That wasn't what interested the assassin, what did was the mare in front of him, the mare who'd just told him she loved him. His marefriend. He clamped his lips to hers, turning his head into it and pushing her back against the wall, pushing his tongue into her maw, Twilight gladly accepting, and going between wrestling with her tongue and teasing over that sensitive spot in her mouth. He kept this up for thirty seconds, until Twilight singled she needed to breath, and pulled back but didn't disconnect; putting their tongues together and pushing against each other, he kept them linked while the mare gasped for breath for a few seconds until the stallion reconnected their kiss. He pushed her up the wall, making her stand on her hind-legs as he supported her; he pulled back and kissed down her neck, holding her in place with his right hoof, wrapped under her left as his left hoof ran over her body, returning the favour from earlier by paying due attention to her flank and cutie mark. She squealed and moaned as he fondled her plot, touching her in all the right places to make her feel good. She'd have to ask him how he knew all her sensitive spots. He pulled back and looked her in the eye, saliva connecting their tongues and breathing as hard as she was. "Twilight" he started, his hoof still on her rear-end, making her blush.

"Yeah" she replied, her fore-legs still around his neck, ready to pull him in.

"I love you too" he told her. In response, Twilight blushed, squealed and pulled him in violently, pressing her maw to his and keeping them together with a raging battle between her tongue and his, love, care, desire and just a hint of lust passing between them (all left on the stove to simmer for twenty minutes while-sorry, wrong joke). She disengaged the kiss sooner than the last, resorting to just tightening the hug she held him in and holding him with intent of never letting go. And she wouldn't have, had Fluttershy, Rainbowdash and Applejack not stumbled across them.

"Hey Twi, what are you doin' out hear" Rainbow asked, startling the mare and making her jump, pushing her off the wall and onto Blood Moon's front, who had fallen onto his back.

"Hey, RD, what's goin'-oh, uhhh, howdy there Twi, we uhhh, interruptin' somthin' there" Applejack asked as she turned the corner and found the same scene as Rainbowdash had a second ago. Fluttershy then floated around the same corner, about to say something when she saw Blood Moon and Twilight lying on the ground behind her house. As she looked on her mind quickly jumped to a conclusion, her eyes snapping open and her face turning red.

"T-T-T-T-T-Twilight, Blood Moon! What are you doing?" Applejack's face was about as red as Fluttershy's when she made the connection, a small grin stretching over the corner of her mouth.

"Ah'm not so sure we wanna know, sugarcube" she said before anypony else could speak. Twilight got up, looking sheepish, and brushed herself off before she helped Blood Moon up.

"Very funny" Twilight commented, rolling her eyes. Applejack looked at Rainbowdash in confusion.

"Who's jokin'?"

"I was just" she glanced at Blood Moon "showing my love for my coltfriend" she told them. Applejack was about to say something when Twilight cut her off. "NOT like that" she insisted. Applejack chuckled.

"Ah believe yah sugarcube" she told them, still snickering to herself. Behind her, Rainbow was laughing into her hoof, while Fluttershy was pawing the ground, smiling good naturedly. The apple bucker looked to the sky. "Are ya'll gonna come inside or stay here, ah think we're about tah have-" the heavens opened and rain poured from the sky, drenching them "rain" Applejack finished, as the rainwater plastered her mane to her face and neck, the same happening to Fluttershy, Rainbowdash, Twilight and Blood Moon.

"I think I'll take the former" the assassin replied, sparking his horn to life before he looked up to see the shower flowing over an invisible shield and dripping off of it at the edges. "Alright, everypony huddle up" he said as the mares bunched around him, unwilling to get wet; Twilight and Fluttershy were either side of him while Rainbowdash and Applejack trotted besides them. They cantered to the front door where they burst through, finding Sand Stalker shaking himself off like a dog would, kicking one of his hind legs to flick off some stubborn water and the cutie mare crusaders shivering. The assassin trotted over to the fireplace, a spark lit at the end of his horn and grew into a flame that flew onto the logs and turned to a pleasant, warming fire.

"That's better" Applejack said as she approached the flames with Applebloom, warming her and her sister.

"Sure is" Twilight agreed, standing between Blood Moon and Applejack, closer to Blood Moon than strictly necessary. Applejack leaned into her with a grin on her face.

"Ah don't think ya'll want to warm up using just a fire, Twi" she whispered. The lavender mare blushed slightly and looked at the floor.

"Shut up" she mumbled, remembering sitting in the bath tub with Blood Moon and blushing harder. After a while of standing in front of the fire, warming themselves up, they made their way up stairs, some carrying cider with them. Up there, they found Pinkie sat on one of the beds, still playing blackjack with the assassin's pets and Rarity busy fixing his garb, having already finished his cloak and now working on the vest. They all sat on their respective beds, Sand Stalker on the chair, and relaxed, watching the rain come down. Twilight turned to Blood Moon.

"Hey, Blood Moon." He turned to her from the window.

"Yeah?"

"I just remembered; I never did ask you anything, when you woke up in my spare bed. I was wondering about a few things." The assassin sat up straighter

"Well, no better time to ask than now" he said, glancing at the rain that kept pouring. "Ask away."

"For starters; '_Umbra Linguam'_?That doesn't sound like any language I know, or even heard of. What is it?"

"Latin" he replied plainly.

"Latin? I've never heard of that."

"I'm not surprised, Latin is a very unique language; it's a universal language. Every society, every world, every universe and plain of existence has a form of Latin. It's the language of gods; for some it's a dead language, for others it's the primary language spoken and for other's it's just another tongue. I can speak it fluently but it's a mostly useless skill when nopony else can speak it, but hay, it's good to know that if I'm whisked away to another dimension, I have a chance" he said. Twilight nodded, scribbling it down on a note pad Blood Moon recognised as the one he kept in his belt. He raised his head and look at the wall.

'_Wait, I don't have my belt on me, where did I…"_

He shuddered as the thought passed through his head and frowned as the wall he was looking at started to bend, twist and basically screw up, the assassin watching as he suspected he'd just broken something important. He closed his eyes and shook the thought away; when he looked back the wall was back to normal. He didn't think about it again.

"Blood Moon, you okay" Twilight asked from the side, sounding concerned. He looked back and smiled slightly, not wanting to think about it.

"Yeah, fine. Any other questions?" She nodded.

"How does your immortality work?" This question made everypony in the room perk up and look over at the assassin.

"Alright, what happens is that my 'dead' body is basically replaced; it turns to ash and flows away on the wind. Did you not notice in the palace?" She shook her head. "Anyway, that rule is binding; if I'm burned to ashes, my ashes turn to more ashes and do the same; if I'm burned away to nothing, my magic doesn't have to worry about getting rid of the body so I just reappear."

"And how does that work?"

"Same way as I leave; I'm taken to a spot that's safe and my body is formed from the ashes, I've never seen it happen before but according to Commander Hurricane it was 'awesome'. That's also one of the reasons I like phoenix's so much" he looked up at Hunter, fussing his head with a grin on his face "we have a lot in common." He looked to Twilight again. "Anything else?"

"What's your exact age?" He grunted a laugh.

"Y'know, if I'd asked you the same thing it'd be considered rude. Anyway, I believe I'm fifteen thousand, nine hundred, eighty-six years, five months and twenty-two days" pause for breath "old. Give or take a few years." Twilight was scribbling furiously.

"How-how can ya'll remember that" Applejack asked, amazed at his ability to recollect things with such detail. He shrugged.

"When you get to be my age, memorise are all you have for the most part" he explained "sure I forget a few things, but I try my best to remember what I find important" he told her. The mares looked on, awestruck, and the fillies gave a syncretised 'wooow'. Even Sand Stalker looked impressed. He looked to Twilight again. "Anything else" he asked, directing the question to the whole room. She looked back at the pad-

'_Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it.'_

And read over what she'd written, before looking up at him.

"No, I think that's all I've got" she replied. He nodded and relaxed, resting his head on his hooves.

"Y'know, I've never told anypony this much about myself so readily before, not really. Nor so many." He shrugged. "Well, just goes to show weather you can trust me or not." Pinkie looked up at him.

"Hey, that was a typo" she declared. Blood Moon frowned at her.

"A what?"

"A typing error" she clarified "just now, it said weather when it should have said whether." Now Twilight was looking at her in confusion.

"Pinkie Pie, what are you talking about." The pink pony rolled her eyes.

"Duuuh, the author wrote the wrong word. It only happened about seventy-four words ago, give or take." Blood Moon and- "Twilight glanced at each other!" DAMNIT, stop interrupting my narration! The pink pony frowned. "No I'm not, I'm still smiling, see." She pointed her hoof at her frowning- "I'm not frowning" she insisted. You're not supposed to be doing this. "Yeah I am, you're the one writing this. Oh, and the computer thinks the comma you put there shouldn't be there, I don't really mind though. By the way, are you saving now just in case the computer freezes from the way this is such and forth-wall breaker? And it won't, you wrote this after you wrote the rest and came back to add this." I'm not going to ask you again, stop speaking with the narrator- "I'm not speaking with the narrator, I'm speaking to you." I AM THE NARRATOR! And quit bending the rules of reality, will you? "No need to be mean, she told him." That last part was my bit, stop taking my narrations Pinkie. "Sorry, I just thought I'd help." Well, thanks put- "BUT, it was meant to be but, another typo!"… BUT, I can do it myself, I've been doing it for the last seventeen chapters, y'know. "Yeah, I know. Well, I'll let you get back to the story now. Oh, and say hi to SonicTheEchidna for me. Oh, and Higgins is about to shake that guy's hand, IT'S A TRAP, but it's only a dream, he'll wake up and Magnum will hear him, running up to see what had happened, but Higgins will say nothing is up although Magnum doesn't believe him." Damnit, Pinkie, spoilers. And don't tell them about what might happen in the story. I'll see you later. "I'll see you too, and you too readers." Probably when you least expect it. "I can still hear you." Damnit Pie, I-I'm…I'm going. The pink party pony, occupancy of the room and the whole of Equestria then heard a door slam somewhere.

Twilight and the rest of the elements of harmony all watched Pinkie in confusion, some scratching their heads and others with raised eyebrows. Twilight turned to say something to Blood Moon but found he wasn't there; instead he was curled up in the corner, sobbing quietly to himself, the voices in his head trying to sooth him. Twilight hopped off the bed and trotted carefully over to him; she put a hoof on her shoulder and nudged him slightly.

"Blood Moon, are you okay?" She wondered what was going on in his head.

'_WHAT JUST HAPPENED? TELL ME NOW, NO DON'T TELL ME, I DON'T KNOW IF MY BRAIN CAN TAKE IT!'_

"_Just calm down, don't think about it and…no just don't think about it, that's the best thing you can do right now."_

'_DON'T THINK ABOUIT? SHE JUST PULLED APART THE LAWS OF REALITY AND SPOKE WITH…I DON'T KNOW, SOMETHING.'_

"_Alright, fair enough, just…just think about Twilight."_

'_I-I…alright, I'm calm, I'm a fifteen thousand year old assassin, I'm an adult. I'm thinking about Twilight, the mare who I love, who has friends, one of which is Pinkie Pie, who just-'_

"_STOP, right there. DON'T. THINK. ABOUT. IT. Just think about Twilight, okay."_

'_Alright, I'm thinking about Twilight. I love that mare.'_

"_Yeah, good, that's it. Just think about her and relax."_

'_Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Just gonna-gonna think about Twi and then…I don't know, just sleep.'_

"_Good."_

Twilight nudged him again, getting seriously worried now.

"Blood Moon" she asked again. The stallion in question then looked over his shoulder at Twilight, before he turned over completely. "Blood Moon, are you ok?" He didn't answer her, instead he just opened his fore-legs for a hug. She did so, sitting him up as she did, and just sat with him for a while until she managed to coax him over to the bed, where she just held him, trying to comfort him. "Are you alright" she asked him, fearing the answer.

"Just…f-f-FINE. I'm fine, just as mentally stable as before. I just…I just wanna go to sleep" he told her.

"But it's only-" she looked outside to find that it was now late at night, glancing at the clock she found it to be ten at night. "When…how…who…what?"

"Oo, oo, I know, it was the auth-"

"STOP" all other mares, fillies and Sand Stalker yelled in unison.

"Alright, alright. Just sayin' y'know" she muttered. Twilight settled down into the bed with her, admittedly freaked out, coltfriend and snuggled into him.

"Are you going to be okay" she asked him. He looked up and smiled slightly.

"Yeah, just gotta, y'know' repress the memories. Should be done in the morning" he told her. She smiled back, still worried for his sanity, and kissed him goodnight. She felt him relax as she did so. She looked up to see him appear…more stable.

"Did that help?"

"Somehow…yes, it kind of did." She grinned and moved closer.

"Well, in that case…" Blood Moon grinned and moved in with her.

The two fell asleep still kissing.

**A/N: New chap. Yay. Sorry if that ending...came out of nowhere, but-**

**It wasn't so bad, you just ran out of ideas and came up with that off the top of your head. I thought it was pretty creative, actually.**

**Pinkie! How'd you get here?**

**Well I got tired of breaking the forth-wall all the time, so I just installed a door. It's much easier to get here now!**

**So-so you can just...come here...now?**

**YEAH!**

**Umm, good, I guess?**

**YAY, do you mind of I help out with the author notes from now on?**

**... Promise me you'll stop breaking the forth-wall in the story from now on, huh?**

**I promise!**

**Pinkie promise?**

**Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!**

**Alright, good. Well, on that note-**

**Aren't you gonna do the cast?**

**The cast?**

**Yeah, at the end of each show we have a cast, why not here?**

**Because-no, just no, it's easier to just not argue with you.**

***Sped up Star wars tune***

**Twilight Sparkle...Tapping on the keyboard**

** Fluttershy...Tapping on the keyboard**

** Rainbowdash...Tapping on the keyboard **

**Pinkie Pie...Herself **

** Rarity... Tapping on the keyboard**

** Applejack...Tapping on the keyboard**

** Blood Moon...Tapping on the keyboard**

** Sand Stalker...Tapping on the keyboard**

** Shining Armour...Tapping on the keyboard**

* * *

**Well, anyway, that's that. Oh, and if you have any questions for Blood Moon leave a review or PM me and I'll work it in to the next chapter. Well, on THAT note **

**Productive faffer-**

**And Pinkie Pie!**

**out. **


	18. The rhyming alchemist

Chapter eighteen: The rhyming alchemist

Blood Moon and Twilight woke at once, his stirring causing her to awaken with him, Hunter and Dusk still slumbering; Twilight looked up at her coltfriend, no small hint of concern in her expression. She couldn't help but be worried, after his small…episode, yesterday, the mare was still thinking about his mental condition. She had to wonder; just how stable was he, or maybe how _un_stable he was, she hoped she could help him through this, as well as whatever else was going through that head of his. That scarred head of his, which held so many stories and held so much knowledge and so little sense. It was such a paradox; he was maybe one of the most down to earth pony she'd ever met, he was-to a degree- very sensible, he was clever, knew what he was doing in life, didn't let anypony harm those close to him and could get very serious when the situation called for it. But at the same time, he was rebellious, as hard-headed as Rainbowdash, he was teetering on the edge of sanity and insanity, cared little for his own safety and did very little in the way of actual relaxed thought. From what she could tell, his mind was always occupied with something, be it her, her friend's safety and well-being or something she couldn't pin down…like he was remembering something, although, that could be forgiven given the amount of memories he must have. She sighed, half in worry and half in bliss, as she relaxed against him, resting her head against his chest and running a hoof down his fur. She couldn't help but notice, she'd never felt this way before; not about actually loving a stallion before, that much she'd already established, but the idea of feeling so much worry for a pony who wasn't one of her friends, also, it wasn't like she didn't have reason to be; her coltfriend was closer to insanity than he was saneness. She grinned as she felt his hooves wrap around her.

'_Well, it does make him more interesting.'_

Twilight continued to look up at the stallion, who looked down at her for a while until he adjusted his position to put them at eye level. She searched his face for any signs of anything wrong, and though she couldn't see anything wrong with him, she knew he was capable of holding an emotionless expression, as well as hiding them pretty well. She caught him looking over her own face, she guessed he was looking over her for the same reason.

"What are you thinking about" she asked him quietly, casually. She watched him as his expression did nothing to acknowledge the question, imagined him thinking about what to answer with; _making sure nothing's wrong, just getting a read on you, trying to figure out what you're thinking…_

"Just admiring how pretty you are" he answered simply. The mare giggled as her ideas of deep and complex thoughts were dashed away by her coltfriend's simple complement. She pecked him on the nose and relaxed against him, hugging him and resting her head on the crook of his shoulder. "Twilight" he started. She leaned back and looked at him.

"Yeah?" He leaned his fore-head against hers, turning his head to avoid bumping their horns together.

"When I told you I love you yesterday…" She smiled at the memory.

"It's not like I'll easily forget it" she told him, her eyes closed as she ran the scene through her mind, a grin on her face.

"Whatever happens between us never forget that, because I mean it" he looked her in the eye "I love you." She smiled at him with her eyes still locked onto his as she turned her head slightly and pushed her lips to his for a while before she pulled back.

"Good, because I love you too" she told him "and I always will. No matter what happens between us, you're my first coltfriend and I don't think I'll be able to love anypony the same way as I love you." She snuggled closer to him. "Which is a good thing, because I have no intention of loving anypony else the same way as I love yo-" She was cut off when the assassin pushed his lips too hers in a long and rather risqué kiss that had her moaning as soon he had initiated it. He ended it before long and pulled back, kissing her on the muzzle, nose and a few times along the horn, those actions causing her to almost shout out in a pleasure that could only be brought on by stimulating her most sensitive pleasure receptors.

"Twilight, I'm pretty sure you have no idea how much that means to me" he told her as he held her tight against his body, unwilling to let go.

"Maybe not, but with that kind of reaction, I can take a pretty good guess" she told him as she pulled herself in even closer. As she moved, she unwittingly brushed her nether regions against his; normally, this wouldn't have sent the blood rushing to his organ but, with his current streak of awakenings, it was all it needed to stand to attention. "Hey, look, it's little you" the mare joked, noticing his stallionhood peeking between their stomachs, much the same way as they had yesterday. Blood Moon snorted a laugh at her gag, smirking and shaking his head before a thought popped into his head.

"And I shall name him…Mini me" he said, causing Twilight to fall into laughs.

"What reference is that" she wondered aloud. The assassin shrugged.

"I don't know, I heard it somewhere but, for the Powers of me, I can never remember where" he said as he kept chuckling with Twilight. "Anyway, I'll get rid of it" he said as he moved away, removing it from the sandwich. Once they were separated, Twilight looked up at him, an expression on her face Blood Moon had never seen before.

"You wanna hoof with that?" The question took the stallion from the left wing; he never thought he'd hear a question like that from Twilight, not so soon anyway, and the idea of them her doing anything to 'relieve' him both aroused him greatly and, for some reason, troubled him.

"You're sure? You don't have to y'know, I don't want you to think you have to do anythi-" He was silenced when the mare's purple, immaculately hooficured, hoof grabbing his stallionhood, none too gently either, prompting him to roll to the side, putting it between them, so it wasn't as obvious to anypony waking up.

"I know I don't have to" she told him, running her hoof up and down his member far too slowly for his liking. "But I want to" she said in a sultry manner that did nothing to kill the mood.

"I-I'm not arguing but…why" he asked, shuddering slightly. Twilight giggled at him, watching as the oh-so powerful assassin so easily turned to putty in the hooves of a mare.

"Because I'm in love you, and I want to show that love" she replied. Blood Moon raised an eyebrow.

"There are other ways to show love, y'know" he told her. In response, she gripped him tighter, making him grunt in both pain and pleasure.

"Maybe, but this gets the message across better" she said, running her hoof to the base and fondling his balls for a second before she moved it back up again, as slow as ever. When she hit the head again, she changed her tactic and started jerking him of faster, making him growl a little. As she used her right hoof to pleasure him, her left went back to his balls and made him tingle a little more, shuddering in response. Twilight giggled at his reaction. "Enjoying th~at" she asked as he pushed his left hind-hoof into her moist marehood.

"It wouldn't be fair if I didn't return the favour" he told her, grinning at her face as he rubbed her slit up and down as she did the same to his cock. Around the room, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were all rubbing their own marehoods while Rarity had hastily crammed the black bull inside her glistening walls, making sure not to wake up Sweetie-Belle in the proses or attract the attention of her friends lying next to her, who she didn't know were masturbating anyway. Blood Moon and Twilight were still rubbing each other, grinning at one another, and getting progressively hotter under each other's touch; Blood Moon leaned closer to Twilight and pushed their lips together as he exchanged his hind-hoof for his left fore-hoof, pushing it into her cunny and felt the moisture that had built there, moving it around and twisting it into her pussy, making Twilight shudder and tighten her grip on his dick.

"That-that's good" she said as she kept pumping her hoof up and down his member. A drop of pre-cum fell from his tip; it landed on her hoof and she held it up to her face, examining it with that scientific mind the stallion loved. She then lapped it off her hoof, savouring it like a fine wine, the sight making Blood Moon's member twitch against her. Massively turned on by her small show and her increased speed on his stallionhood, his hoof worked harder, pushing deeper into her, spreading her folds and slipping inside her, making her squeal slightly into the kiss he had started again, in an effort to muffle it.

"You ever done this before" he asked. Twilight looked with a frown on his face, which was quickly killed when he pulled out his hoof and stroked her clit, making her bite her lower lip and throw her head back a little.

"M-maybe once or twice, by myself, but-but never with a stallion before" she answered. He grinned and pushed his hoof through her folds and twisted it around before he massaged her inner walls. She responded by jacking him off faster, making him groan slightly. Around the room, the mares redoubled their efforts; both Fluttershy's hooves had joined the fun between her legs, shuffling further away from Rainbow, as not to disturb her or wake her or Scootaloo up; Pinkie Pie's left hoof had strayed to Applejack's cunny, helping her pleasure herself, while Applejack's right hoof had gone to Pinkie's, seemingly of its own accord, and rubbed her back, letting Applebloom rest on her stomach, dangerously close to her personal pleasuring; and Rarity had simply turned on the vibrator on her dildo, turning it up to max, and letting it rage around inside her as she hugged her sister and forced herself to not scream.

"Hey, Twilight" Blood Moon started. She looked up at him. "Pop quiz; what happens when at least one thousand pleasure receptors are fired up at once?" Twilight raised an eyebrow at his question, but before she could answer, the stallion cut her off. "This" he told her, as he moved forwards and kissed along her horn, getting closer to the base before he moved back up with his tongue running up it; Twilight almost screamed while he did this, her pussy stopped being wet and instead turned into a small water fall, as his hoof and mouth worked together to pleasure her.

"I-I thought I was-ahhh-supposed to be making you feel good." He shrugged, not stopping with his efforts for a second before he pulled back and looked at her, a rather smug grin on his face. "What" she asked. Blood Moon looked down, prompting her to do the same, and saw his member, receiving no attention. "Oh, sorry" she said, before she put a hoof to her chin in thought with a small 'umm' of thought. She looked up at him with an expression on her face the assassin, once again, didn't recognise but looked awfully similar to the look she'd had earlier. With a sultry grin, Blood Moon absolutely loved, she shuffled down his body until she was met face to face with his dick. She looked at it with a slightly intimidated expression on her face; she had never tried anything like this before, she'd heard about it and maybe thought about it while hoofing herself from time to time but never actually doing it. She knew Blood Moon wouldn't judge her, or think any less of her, if she got it wrong at all but she wanted to get a good first impression and be off to a good start in her sex life. She frowned and blinked.

'_Huh, never thought I'd think that.'_

She pulled herself out of her stupor and looked at the stallionhood before her; it was big, a little veiny, throbbing slightly as her warm breath hit it and had a…funny odour to it, like it she should think it bad but was kind of nice. She leaned a little closer, holding her head to the side as she got closer, and sniffed it, getting a nose full of his scent in response. She bit her lip and looked it up and down, from balls to tip, and swallowed before she leaned in and ran her tongue up his length; it was definitely a strange taste, salty, a hint of sweat and there was also what could only be described as lust and desire given a taste. As soon as her tongue had hit his stallionhood, she found herself wanting more and was about to when a though slipped into her head; her memory of yesterday, and what had happened between her coltfriend and Fluttershy. She thought about his and her relationship, and how far it could go between them; she knew from her extensive reading into the subject that sex was something needed to break down certain walls between partners, Blood Moon was dating her and he loved her, he'd told her so, and she loved him back. She wanted to show him that she loved him, show him as well as, if not better, than Fluttershy ever could; with that thought, she opened her maw and took him in. Every mare around the room, currently awake, paused in their efforts and looked over their sweating bodies to see the act, their eyes wide in disbelief and their hooves rubbing themselves furiously; Twilight's legs were peeking out from beneath the covers, the purple sheets themselves rising and falling as she bobbed up and down, her horn forming a pointed tent in the sheet while her coltfriend writhed around above her, holding her head and directing her movements. After yesterday, he would be lying if he'd said he hadn't at least hoped this was where it would go when Twilight had started earlier; he groaned a little as Twilight took him right to the base, gritting his teeth as his marefriend ran her tongue up and down his shaft.

"You're good at this" he said as he ran his hooves along her horn, making her groan herself and send erotic vibrations through his system. She pulled back and looked up at him from under the covers.

"I-um-I did…a little reading a little while back" she said with a deep blush on her face. It amused the assassin to no end that she was lying there, jerking him off, and she was blushing about the fact that she had done some research on it, rather than the fact that, here she was, jerking him off. She noticed his smirk and flustered a little. "I-I was curious about it, and-and the book was just sitting there, I mean, Celestia stocked the library herself so I can only assume that she put it in there for a reason" she told the stallion. That actually surprised him.

"Celestia had a book about how to properly please a stallionhood with the mouth and she thought the best place to put it would be in her student's library?" Twilight looked sheepish.

"I guess she just wanted to help, have a hoof in my relationships" she tried. Blood Moon snorted in laughter.

"I can't believe it; I thought I raised her better than that." In response Twilight swirled her tongue around his tip.

"And I can't believe you're keeping me talking when my face is down here" she told him, making a pretty astute point, as she moved her mouth to take him in again and suckled on his stallionhood's tip before going down and deep throating him, much like how Fluttershy had blown him yesterday, asides from her tongue being more agile, allowing it to dance around his member faster and with much more variation; her maw being slightly wider, giving her more room to play; and her appearing to have a bigger lung capacity, shown by her ability to hold her lips around the base of his cock for longer.

'_Hmm, maybe they use the same research material.'_

"Hey Twi" she murmured to herself, likely grumbling in frustration, and suckled her way up before she kissed his tip.

"Yes" she asked, in between smacks and licks.

"Don't scream." She looked up in confusion as his horn glowed and she was swiftly lifted by an invisible force, and moved around some with the covers still hanging off of her until he let her back down, his cock in her face and her pussy in his. He looked over her labia, her sweet, slightly darker outer rings leading to her pink inner flesh, begging for attention, still dripping from the hoofing he'd given it earlier and her clit glistened pleasingly, practically demanding to be pleased; he looking up at her well-maintained pussy hair, it was short and feint but well kept, the colours following her mane and tail, the outer edges being darker purple and the inner stripes being pink. He looked around her lush plot to see her glancing back at him. "First to cum" he propositioned.

"You're on" she said. They dived in at once, unawares as to the debauchery going on around their own as the licked, sucked, kissed, flicked, teased and pleasured each other's sexes. Twilight had put her fore-legs under his hind-legs, giving her some leverage, as she bobbed her head up and down rapidly, moaning the whole time as she dived in deep and pulled back up to flick the tip with her tongue, while Blood Moon had his hooves either side of her folds, spreading them invitingly as his tongue went to work on the insides. He tasted around her inner walls, lapping up the juices that flowed from her opening while he made sure his tongue flicked her clit periodically and making her shudder and groan around his dick. His lips clamped over her and he kissed her marehood before he pushed his tongue right in and used it to penetrate her, thrusting it in and out of her, lapping at her glistening walls for a while as Twilight continued to use her own lips and tongue to bring him closer to orgasm. She roughly ran her tongue up one side of his shaft, a light smack when she got to the end and kept using her tongue to pleasure him as her hoof kept moving up and down while her tongue stayed at the tip, swirling around it. Blood Moon's own tongue was working away at her snatch, teasing over her clit, while his right hoof massaged her flank and periodically poked around her ass-hole and his left held her tail out of the way, appreciating the silky texture. He pulled back when he got an idea; the stallion moved his head around as he aligned his horn with her sex and pushed it in. The mare came very close to screaming in pleasure, and even closer to cumming, but instead she threw her head back, as noiseless and breathless scream tempted to sound, a few squeaks coming out instead. "That's-that's-that's, ahhh, that's good. There, just-just right there. B-Blood Moon, ahhh, this is…what are you doing back there?" Between her hind-legs, the stallion had his horn inside Twilight's pussy but was unable to answer due to the fact he'd been almost knocked out by the sheer tidal wave of ecstasy that had just slammed into his nervus system and found himself on the fresh hold of cumming. He moved his head, thrusting his horn into her and prompting her to squeal some more as he moved around inside her, and listening to her get closer and closer to reaching her peek as she clenched and squeezed his horn with her wanting marehood. "B-Blood Moon I'm gonna-gonna…" she looked down at his still erect member "oh no, you don't" she said, managing to pull herself out of her ecstasy for a brief second to see he was about to beat her. She dived back onto his cock and sucked on it for all she was worth, the reaction to said efforts coming out in a way that quickly pushed the assassin to his climax. For thirty more seconds, until they were both clamping down on their groans, moans and telling each other how good the felt, they came all over each other; Twilight released him to scream, doing her damndest to hold it down, and his cum coated her face with a white, gooey, sticky substance that had her breathless and panting while his seed dripped of her blushed, purple face, now turned mostly white by said seed; Blood Moon's horn, fore-head and no small amount of his mane was now caked in Twilight's fluids, some of it running down his grinning face and into his maw, where he opened his mouth and tasted some of her sweet nectar. The mare was panting and out of breath as she crawled up his body and lay on top of him, feeling more in love with him than ever. Blood Moon was helping her exhausted body climb up his own and held her against him with a content sigh, feeling more in love with her than ever. Around the room, the other mares had cum at the same time as Twi and Blood Moon, Fluttershy clamping one of her wet hooves over her mouth, Rarity arching her back and losing a noise and soundless scream in the same way as Twilight had while Pinkie had turned Applejack's head to face her and clamped their lips together as they came, screaming into each other's maws as Applejack looked at her friend's slightly darker shade of pink eyelids with her own crushed emerald eyes, held wide in aroused shock, slowly closing them as she got into it. The mares and stallion all panted a little as the basked in post-orgasmic bliss. Twilight looked over Blood Moon's face before giggling.

"You've got something on you" she said, still giggling at his matted mane, now plastered in her cum. She climbed up him and put his horn to her mouth. "Here, let me help you" she cooed as she lapped her own cum off of his horn and face, making him shiver and tempting him to harden again and her to moisten again as she started to feel incredibly hot as she tasted herself on him. When she'd cleaned him off, she moved back down him again and snuggled against him, where they rested against each other for a long while until they caught a whiff of the scent in the air.

"They're going to notice that" he said. Twilight just closed her eyes and pulled herself into him some more.

"Let them, I'm not embarrassed about it" she told him as she looked up at him, her gorgeous half lidded eyes meeting his. "I love you, why would I be embarrassed by it?" They lay in place for little while longer, just enjoying the company and awaiting the questions that would come when they noticed the smell in the air, and the cum Twilight still had on her face. After a thirty minutes, which felt like way too short a time for the both of them, Blood Moon's stomach rumbled and he felt the need to get up.

"I'm gonna get up" he told her, as he lifted himself out of bed "get this out of my mane and get something to eat" he continued "Hunter, Dusk you coming" he asked quietly, his voice still managing to wake them up. The pair of animals looked at him and made their way to their perches on him, Dusk scampering onto his head, though staying away from Twilight's cum, looking at it in confusion, and Hunter sat on his shoulder, his eyebrow raised at the smell on him. Twilight threw the covers off of her and stood up alongside him.

"Yeah, me too, I need to get all this off me, before the others notice" she said, as they both set about magically remaking the bed. The gave a synchronised 'hmm' when they saw the stains they had left on the sheets before shrugging and turning for the door, still in freaky sync, Twilight's flank swaying and bumping the assassin's own rear-end. They entered the bathroom and went about washing themselves off, Twilight paying most attention to her face and groin as she washed the cum off and Blood Moon washing it out of his mane and cleaning his crotch, the pets watching in confusion, wondering what their master had done before they had woke up. Once done, they checked each other over, making sure they hadn't missed any spots and trotting down the stairs and putting some simple daisy-sandwiches together for one another.

Upstairs, the other mares who had gotten involved in this morning's session of passion and debauchery were coming down from their sexual high and were waiting for the others to leave so they could recover properly. Fluttershy went first, waking up Spike as she passed him and got him out of the room before he registered the smell, floating into her bathroom and putting a soap and sponge between her legs to get rid of any evidence; Rarity went afterwards, waiting until Fluttershy had left the bathroom, and took Sweetie-Belle with her, hiding the black bull in her pillow again, into the bathroom, making use of her drowsy state and leaving Pinkie and Applejack in the room together, nopony else up yet. Applejack looked at Pinkie with an estranged expression on her face.

"P-uh-Pinkie, what was…uhh, all that about? Y'know, when we-we, you know afta we…"

"When we came together" she asked with an ever out of place smile on her face. "Well, we were gonna wake everypony up with it so I thought on my hooves and did something to keep us quiet." Applejack blinked.

"An' your solution was tah kiss me? What were ya'll thinkin'? Ya'll know ah'm straight, mah tail don't swing that way." Pinkie giggled, tapping her on the nose.

"You weren't complaining when you were kissing me back" she sung, that same smile on her face. "Come one, you telling me you've never tried experimenting?" Applejack blushed and looked down, remembering that one time she'd been left alone on the farm with a big sack of apples. A BIG sack of apples.

"Well, ah, uhh, a-a little bit, a little while back, but that's not what ah'm talkin' about; whenever ah do the 'hometown shuffle' ah prefer to have a stallion's company" she told her.

"Ooo, 'prefer' huh? So you ARE open to some experiments?" Applejack blushed harder.

"Well, ah, no ah'm-ah'm not-well ah…uhh…" Pinkie Pie giggled as she moved closer to the apple bucker.

"Come on AJ, just admit it; you enjoyed it." She pressed her sweet, pink belly against the farm-hoof's, wrapping her in a hug and half lidding her eyes, turning incredibly sexy in a matter of seconds, making Applejack blush again. And it wasn't because of what she was saying.

"Ah, umm, uhh, ah don't-don't... P-Pinkie where's all o' this comin' from?" The pink pony giggled.

"I've always been a party girl" she answered, before pecking her on the nose and rolling away, getting up like nothing was amiss. "Morning Dashie" she sung as she left the room. That short wakeup call awoke both Rainbowdash and Scootaloo as well as Sand Stalker, who jolted awake and fell off his chair with a few blurted Arabian curses.

"Hey, what, where-what's going on" Rainbowdash demanded as she held Scootaloo protectively, the filly looking around in alarm until she worked out nothing was wrong and just basked in the fact that she was being held by her idol.

"Dash, calm down, you're fine" Sand Stalker told her from his position on the floor, grumbling as he rubbed the grit from his eyes. Rainbow calmed down when he said this, looking at the filly she held.

"Mornin' squirt" she said, tussling her mane, Scootaloo giggling as she did so.

"Morning Rainbowdash" she said, nuzzling her before she got up and hopped off the bed. "Morning Applejack, hey Applebloom, you up" she asked the apple bucker's sheets, prompting the head of a yellow filly to pop from beneath the side.

"Yeah, sure ah'm awake" she told the Pegasus, before she gracelessly fell out of bed and landed on her face. Applejack looked over the side, concerned.

"Yew alright sugarcube?" 'Bloom looked up at her sister.

"Yeah, ah'm fine. Looks like all the bumps we too crusadin' finally paid off" she said as they cantered for the door. During the CMC's shenanigans, Rainbowdash had woken up properly and caught the smell in the air.

"What's that smell" she asked, sniffing the air. Applejack panicked.

"N-nothin' suspicious" she said, sounding incredibly suspicious as she said so, the irony not lost on either of the Pegasi; that said, RD didn't know what the word 'irony' meant. The orange mare cantered out of the room as gracelessly as her sister had fallen out of bed, heading downstairs for breakfast. The winged ponies looked at each other and shrugged.

"How you doin' 'Dash" Sand Stalker asked as he got up, making Applejack's bed in a way only a life in the military could teach you. The cyan mare shrugged as she made Fluttershy's, not doing quite as good a job of it as the merc.

"Fine" she answered simply. The stallion looked over at her.

"No offence Dash, but you haven't been talking all that much lately, and you've been a lot more physical with Scootaloo, hugging her more. You don't have to hide this sort of thing Rainbow, that sort of experience would traumatise most other ponies." He trotted over to her, putting his hoof on her shoulder when he got close, angling his head and neck so he could look at her lowered face. "Are you sure you're alright?" She didn't look up at him.

"I-I've let my pride get in the way of this kind of thing for too long, and I know I can't fool you uncle Sand, so I'm gonna be honest" she paused as she looked up, grief clear in her eye. "I was scared, I thought I was gonna die…and-and" she wrapped her fore-hooves around his neck "I'm glad you came… when you arrived, somehow, I knew everything was going to be ok" she told him. She released him and stepped back. "Listen, Blood Moon said it would be better for us if we tried to work this out rather than be at each other's throats" the merc chuckled "so I was wondering if you'd want to try and start again with this." The merc laughed.

"Rainbow, Blood said some things to me too; he said that when you make a promise, you should keep it especially when it concerns a newly made orphan. And he was right; I should have kept my promise and stayed with you, no matter my own situation. Now, I'll take any chance to make it up to you, you can bet your wings on it" he told her. The mare pulled him into another hug, this one briefer than the others before she disengaged.

"Alright, good, I got my uncle Sand back" she said, trying to remain passive but doing a remarkably bad job of it "now let's stop being so sappy, I'm hungry" she told him. Sand Stalker laughed and led the way to the stairs, heading downstairs and towards…not the sound of conversation. He entered the front room and Rainbowdash stood next to him, thinking the same thing as he was as they looked over the near silent room. "What's goin' on" she asked, sitting next to Fluttershy, who was looking at the small cup of cider in her hoof, a faint blush on her face. Sand Stalker and Rainbowdash looked around the room, spotting blushes on Rarity's, Applejack's and even Pinkie Pie's face, none of them looking up at each other; Twilight and Blood Moon, who were sitting close to each other, closer to each other than normal, and were looking around the room in confusion, Hunter and Dusk following their example.

"So" the assassin said at length, an eyebrow still raised. "Any plans for today" he asked the room. They all looked up, thinking about what he had asked.

"Oh, umm, all my animal friends are taken care of, asides feeding them, I don't think anything needs to be done" Fluttershy said. That pretty much set the tone; the work needed to be done at Fluttershy's home was the only work available so if nothing was needed to be done, there was nothing to do. Still awkward at the strange lack of conversation, Blood Moon looked outside.

"Well, it's a nice day, and I don't think the guards will be coming around anytime soon, so if you want to get some fresh air, now's your chance" he said. At those words the CMC all trotted out of the kitchen and made their way outside to play once more, Fluttershy went out to check up on the critters that lived outside and Blood Moon simply went to get some air.

Out there, he had to admit; he liked it out here. The treeline of the Everfree forest looked a world away, and the light sent to Equestria by Celestia's golden sun cast a happy glow over Fluttershy's cottage and its surroundings; the birds chirped in perfect tone, almost like Fluttershy had trained them herself, and any critters in the area looked to be fit and healthy, not to mention as cheerful as can be. The assassin sat on his haunches, at the edge of the small river that ran through past her home, and did nothing but watch the fish go by, letting his memories flood him. He fell onto his back and rested his head on his hooves, gazing at the clouds, looking for shapes he recognised; his eyes relaxed into a glare, his usual state of expression, and took in the abstract shapes and slow movements of the sky's mist. This was the only thing he could really do to relax, watching the clouds, and the only way to settle his thoughts, that always seemed impossibly scrambled otherwise. He was good at hiding it, he knew that, but it didn't change the fact that without something to focus on, he found it impossible to keep his thoughts in order, or even focused on one thing; it was maddening.

"_Don't talk to me about maddening; I'm mad enough as it is."_

'_Oh, it's you. I wondered how long it would take for you to resurface properly.'_

"_Yeah it's me. So…"_

'_So…'_

"_Look, we both know why I'm speaking with you now."_

'_We do, so get on with it; you're going to scold me for how I think about Twilight. Let's get this over with.'_

"_You're not even going to try and argue, are you? You really have stopped caring about what I have to say."_

'_I have, you're a voice in my head, nothing more.'_

"_We both know I'm more than that, Blood Moon.'_

'_You WERE more than that, Black Star. Now, as I said, you're nothing more than a voice in my head and even in that respect you're pretty redundant, you quit trying to send me insane years ago.'_

"_There was no point in it; you're too far gone to even try anymore, your sanity and insanity are sat on a delicate set of scales. Delicate, but sturdy. You're as far gone as you're going, not me, Celestia, Luna, or even Discord himself could push you over the edge. But at the same time, nopony, not Twilight, Vinyl, me or anypony else you know can bring you back to stability. But I doubt you care."_

'_No, I don't. Nor will I ever. I don't care if I'm as far gone as I'm going, because if that's the case, why bother with concern?'_

"_That's always been your problem; you don't care about anything you don't think is worth it; yourself, your safety, your sanity, the past, the future or even somepony who used to be close to you, Ditzy for example."_

'_We've been over this already; I no longer, nor will I ever again, care for that mare.'_

"_But you do Twilight?"_

'_Of course, I wouldn't have told her I love her if I didn't, would I?'_

"_You never told Ditzy you loved her."_

'_No, I didn't.'_

"_Did you?"_

'_No, I don't think I did.'_

"_In retrospect?"_

'_No, at all; I never felt that…same connection.'_

"_Because you never had sex?"_

'_No, you bastard, because I never felt that way, I guess, because I didn't feel any kind of out of place feeling when I was around her. I know love when I feel it, and that wasn't it.'_

"_Rising Sunset?"_

'_Yes, Rising Sunset.'_

"Blood Moon?" The voice knocked him out of his thoughts, blinking himself back to reality and Equestria as he looked around for the source of said voice, tracking it to an orange furred filly with a purple windswept mane.

"Scootaloo" he said, straightening up to look at her properly and sitting on his hind-quarters. She sat next to him, picking up a pebble and tossing it into the stream. "Something up, Scoots?"

"No" she says unconvincingly and without looking at him "I was just thinking about what happened the other day, at the school" she told him, still not looking at him.

"Oh, what about it?" The filly glanced up at him, but didn't meet his gaze.

"I was just-just thinking about how you stood up to Miss Cheerilee and Diamond Tiara for us. Nopony has ever done for that for us before." Blood Moon shrugged.

"It was just how I would look after any filly, be it my own daughter or any close to me. And I'm not altogether surprised nopony has stood up to Cheerilee or Diamond Tiara before; too many ponies are too concerned about how other ponies perceive them. Personally, I just do what needs be done, and to Tartarus with what anypony thinks of me for it; I fight when I need to fight, kill when I need to kill and protect those close to me, it's only natural half the ponies of Equestria hate me, and the other half stand beside me." He shrugged. "It makes no difference to me."

"Why" the filly asked. The assassin smirked.

"So everypony who is catering to everypony else has something to strive towards when they decide they want to start living for themselves, as well as others" he told her.

"What do you mean?" He looked at her, his head angled inquisitively.

"Tell me, Scootaloo, what would you be if you served somepony else all of the time?"

"All of the time?" He nodded.

"Every second of every minute of every hour of every day, etcetera, etcetera." She thought about it.

"A slave, I guess" she answered. He nodded.

"Exactly, and I am no slave, nor should you be nor anypony else be. And I'm pretty sure nopony wants to be a slave" he said.

"I wouldn't" she told him, looking at the stream. Blood Moon nodded.

"Good, that kind of thinking is the first stop to properly living." The two sat in silence for a while after he said this, Scootaloo letting what he'd said sink in while Blood Moon lay on his back again, staring at the clouds once more, Scootaloo joining him before long in his relaxation. "So why did you really come here" he asked, out of the blue. The filly looked over at him, trying to look confused.

"W-what do you mean, 'why did I really come here'?" The assassin smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"Let's be honest, you can't have been thinking just about how I stood up for you; that sort of thing is natural for you, you're a fighter, like me, you're head on and blunt. You don't exactly think, you do. So, standing up for somepony would be second nature to you, if you don't believe me just think about how you reacted to Sweetie-Belle's predicament the other day." He dropped his smirk and gave her a look that spoke his curiosity "So, what exactly were you thinking about?" The filly looked sheepish, turning away from him and prompting the stallion to sit up.

"I-I was just thinking about when you said you were… my daddy" she told him. Blood Moon looked at the floor.

"Ah" he muttered. She looked over her shoulder at him and saw him looking a little down. She sat up and faced him.

"I was thinking about what it was like to have a daddy" she continued "for a little while." The way she said the latter half of her sentence was almost tear-jerking.

"Scootaloo, I'm sorry if my…ruse was a little inconsiderate but I… well, put simply, I couldn't think of anything else at the time" he told her, no longer proud of his quick thinking. Scootaloo caught his tone of voice and moved over to him, grabbing his right fore-leg.

"D-don't be like that, it was nice having a dad" she said, giving him a weak smile. Blood Moon gave a small half smile of his own, not properly looking at her.

"Scootaloo, you need family, so why don't you go to Rainbowdash with this sort of thing?" The orange filly looked down again.

"Well, Rainbowdash is awesome and all but she's more of a sister than anything else, not like a-like my mom or anything like that" she revealed. "I don't think she sees me like that" she added. Blood Moon felt for her; he'd thought Rainbowdash and Scootaloo had been close enough to fill each other's void, but it seemed that they were in need of somepony more than that, somepony who could actually look after them in a way a sister couldn't; true, sisters had a relationship no other pony could provide but at the same time a mother or a father, or a simple elder, held a relation with a daughter none could match. A pony with the correct qualities and relation to the filly, or colt, can make a suitable 'honorary family member' but finding somepony with these qualities is difficult and there is always the chance of a lonely young never coming across somepony willing to take care of them. Now, Rainbowdash had Sand Stalker for that and Scootaloo could only look on as her big sister had her uncle and she had nopony, not for that anyway. He narrowed his eyes.

'_Buck, that.'_

"Listen, Scootaloo, I can't stand seeing a filly or colt alone and when I can help it, I do. So, if you're okay with it, I'd-I'd stand in as your father-" Scootaloo cut him off by lunging at him, wrapping her fore-hooves around his neck, sobbing slightly into his neck.

"Yesyesyes, thank you" she cried as he chuckled and pulled her into his own hug.

"Now, this isn't anything official but for anything you need a father for, I'm there" he pulled back and looked her in her damp eyes. "For better, or for worse." She squealed and dived into his shoulder again, nuzzling him as she did so.

"Thanks…dad" she said, holding him tighter, her little wings fluttering.

"It's alright Scoots" he told her, smiling fondly. He rather liked this, having a daughter again, though he did know he may have to watch her die eventually, no matter how depressing the thought it was just the way it was, he couldn't help but think he wouldn't have to look after her for her whole life, Scootaloo was just too cute for nopony to not want to take her in. Still, he wasn't sure what move he'd just made, I mean, let's look at things so far; he was in love with Twilight, who loved him back; Fluttershy was in love with him, and he couldn't deny he certainly felt the same way for the mare; Sand Stalker was Rainbowdash's uncle, who was Scootaloo's sister; and he was now Scootaloo's dad. So, what; Him and Twilight were the mom and dad; Sand Stalker was Blood Moon's brother; Scootaloo and Rainbowdash were their kids…

'_Discord's antlers, this is a confusing family.'_

Blood Moon shook the thoughts from his head, and resorted to falling onto his back, Scoots still in his grip, and just lying there with her. They lay there together, as father and daughter, for hours, just enjoying each other's company and relaxing in the sun. Scootaloo had fallen asleep before long, having drifted off in the midday sun with a content smile on her face, and Blood Moon was quickly following her to the land of dreams until he heard a blood curdling scream. The filly jolted awake, Blood Moon doing the same, clutching the filly in his fore-hooves and looking around himself to find the cause of disturbance while Scootaloo had just woken up for the second time in a day in the hooves of somepony who was alarmed, the only difference here was that she'd heard what Blood Moon had and was just as alarmed as he was.

"What was that" she asked, looking back at Fluttershy's home, where the scream seemed to have originated from.

"It sounded like Rarity" Blood Moon commented as he stood on all fours, Scootaloo on his back. The filly seemed to relax when he said this, giggling as she spoke.

"Well, if that's it, she may have just stepped into some dirt" she commented. The stallion grunted.

"Y'know, if she had, I wouldn't be surprised at her reaction. But with the current situation, I'm not gonna take the chance" he told her. The assassin trotted towards the cottage, once he arrived, he made his way around the back and saw Fluttershy and Rarity, the latter of which was on her back, tears streaming down her face. Blood Moon frowned, and cantered over, glancing left and right, looking for anything that may have been the cause of this. "Rarity, what's wrong?" She kept writhing around on the floor before she managed to look up and him with her eyes still wet. Blood Moon's frown deepened; she wasn't crying, she was laughing.

"Oh, B-Blood Moon, there you are" she fell into giggles again "I wondered if you'd turn up" she told him before she started howling in un-ladylike laughter. The killer glanced back at Scootaloo, who was looking as confused as she was, before he looked at Fluttershy.

"What's going on" he asked as the rest of the elements of harmony, Spike and Sand Stalker came galloping out, wondering what was happening.

"I don't wanna talk about it" the mare said in a deep, masculine voice. Immediately, Rarity started laughing again, Spike joining her while Sand Stalker raised a bemused eyebrow and the other mares giggled into their hooves.

"Hey, Flutterguy's back" Spike joked, slapping his knee. Blood Moon trotted over to him and clouted him around the back of the head with a snarl on his face. "OW, hey, what was that for" he demanded, rubbing his head.

"Because you're laughing at somepony afflicted with Poison Joke" he almost roared. The message didn't seem to sink in for most of the other ponies, but Sand Stalker, Spike and Rainbowdash all shut up at the ferocity of his words.

"Blood Moon, what are you so worked up about" Twilight asked, still giggling. The assassin moved over and hit her on the back of her head, though not as hard as he had Spike. "Ow, what gives?"

"Don't you know what Poison Joke is, what it does?" Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Of course I do; it plays a prank on you, it's happened to us all. Rainbowdash kept crashing"

"Rainbowcrash" Spike added.

"Rarity's fur grew out"

"Hairity."

"Pinkie's tongue messed up"

"Spitty Pie."

"Applejack shrunk"

"Appleteeny."

"And my horn went all floppy and wouldn't work."

"I still haven't thought of a name for that" he muttered.

"Twilight Short-out" the assassin suggested. "Anyway, that's not the point; if it were just a prank they played, they wouldn't be called _Poison _Joke, would they?" Twilight's grin faltered.

"What do you mean" she asked. The assassin approached Fluttershy and checked her over, looking for any signs of the poison going further than just its joke.

"Well" he muttered, as he circled the butter yellow mare "if left untreated for more than a week, I think, the effects become permanent." The mares gasped. "And if left untreated for…" he looked at Sand Stalker "what, a month?" The merc put a hoof to his chin in thought before he nodded. "It's fatal" he finished. At those two magic words, Fluttershy's eyes widened and she fell to tears, landing on the stallion's shoulder.

"I don't wanna die" she said in that deep voice. The assassin didn't let it faze him.

"Don't worry, you're not going to die" he soothed as he stroked her mane before he frowned. "When did it sting you anyway" he asked. The mare leaned back, putting a hoof to her chin.

"It may have been when we were getting out of the Everfree forest the other day, I wasn't really looking where I was going. I may have trotted through it then" she said. Blood Moon nodded.

"Makes sense, you were paying attention to Hunter most of the time and letting AJ and Rarity guide you, so you never noticed when you stepped in it." He looked her over some more. "At a guess, you grazed it, that would be why it took so long to take effect, normally it only takes a day, but with less poison in you system, it would naturally take longer" he said, more for himself than anypony else. He looked at Twilight. "How did you cure it before?"

"We didn't, Zecora fixed us up with a potion she made" the magenta unicorn told him. Blood Moon raised an eyebrow.

"What's a 'Zecora'?" Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Zecora is a zebra that lives in the Everfree silly, she's an alchemist." The assassin put a hoof to his chin.

"A zebra alchemist living in the Everfree forest?" Twilight nodded. "Eh, that's cool" he shrugged as he lead the way back into the cottage. His horn glowed and his vest, hood and cloak flew onto him, vest and cloak in better repair than the hood, surrounded by a grey aura, before his twin swords, still in their sheaths, flew onto him, strapping themselves onto his side, his other weapons not following after. "I take it only she knows this cure" he said, turning to the other ponies. Twilight nodded.

"Yeah, and she only comes to Ponyville when she needs supplies and there's no way of knowing when she'll come next" she said, as the assassin trotted for the door.

"Looks like I'm heading in there then" he said as the merc, his marefriend and Scootaloo galloped after him.

"You're not going in there alone" Sand Stalker told him.

"And why not" the dark stallion asked as he turned to him.

"Because it's dangerous" Scootaloo said.

"And you don't even know where she lives" Twilight continued.

"And the last time you went in there you died" Sand Stalker added.

"And I don't wanna lose you" Twilight and Scootaloo said at once, both hugging him as they said it, Twilight going for the chest and Scoots the legs. The assassin smiled slightly and hugged them back.

"Don't worry about me, I can look after myself" he reassured them. "Listen, I don't wanna lose any time, so I've got to get moving" he said as he broke the hug.

"At least let somepony come with you" Twilight said, her choice of words prompting a few blushes. Blood Moon shook his head.

"No, I need Sand Stalker to stay here with you in case anything happens and I'll be faster alone anyway." Twilight looked a little insulted.

"But you don't even know where she lives" she exclaimed. The stallion rolled his eyes.

"There are three beaten paths in the Everfree; one leads to the Everfree palace, the other to the Mirror pond and the other is one I've never explored, simply because I can never be bothered" he explained "I can only presume that, that pathway leads to Zecora's home." Twilight looked defeated.

"Alright, just…be careful" she said. The stallion grunted.

"I'll be fine" he told her. "What could possibly go-"

"STOP, right there" Twilight ordered, cramming her hoof into his mouth. "Whenever anypony says that, something always goes wrong" she said. He was about to argue when he noticed her point, shrugging.

"Good point, anyway, I should get going now" he said, receiving a kiss and hug goodbye from Twilight and Scootaloo respectively. He turns and opens the door, throwing a parting grin the other's way as he crosses the fresh hold. "Relax" he tells the elements of harmony, fillies and Spike. "I won't be long."

* * *

Blood Moon had been trotting for three hours now, eyes constantly darting from left to right as he watched for any threats that were tempted to jump him. He didn't like the Everfree, well, nopony did, but he liked to think he had a special relationship with it; he'd spent at least nine years of his life here, none consecutively, and most all of the time had been spent with him being worried about one thing or another, be it some rookie adventurer on his back or his mark getting away in this seemingly endless place. Blood Moon and the Everfree forest had an accord; 'you stay away from me, and I'll stay away from you.' Both parties would love to be able to hold up that agreement, but events constantly transpire to have him blundering in here, be it on the hunt in here or just having to run errands. He wondered why he'd never run into this 'Zecora' before, he'd been in here enough times so it was only logical; maybe she'd only just moved here, though he couldn't figure out why, or maybe he had seen or met her without realising it.

Another hour's worth of trotting complete, he came across a small hut, a Sharman's hut to be precise. It seemed to be built into a great, hollowed tree, bringing back pleasant memories of his time in Twilight's library, the outside decorated with tribal masks and bottles strung up from the branches. The assassin looks over the masks, recognising them as a sign of friendship and welcome; he grunted when he remembered that time he'd mistaken masks with happy and pleasant faces for welcome, but were instead the signs for sacrifice, cannibalism and, if he remembered correctly, flossing with a pony's mane. He looked around and found that there were no creatures in the clearing, most likely warded off by the bottles hung in the trees which most likely held an Ursa's urine scent, marking its territory but was scentless to ponies. Done with admiring the Sharman's home, he approached the door and knocked upon it. From inside, he heard a clattering as though he'd just disturbed somepony. The door opened to reveal a black and white striped zebra.

Zecora looked the stallion up and down, searching her memories and not recognising him.

"Ahh, a stranger comes to my door" she started as she opened the door further, though not all the way "tell me friend, what can I do you for?" The assassin raised his eyebrow at her strange form of speech but grinned all the same as he answered.

"Forgive my fine mare, but I bring news of a friend in dis-repair" he explained. Zecora smiled when she heard his rhyme, opening the door fully and looking over the stallion; she recognised the _Robus _-weave on his chest and spotted the weapons on his side. Her smile dropped when she registered what he'd just said.

"Oh my, it must be severe, to venture to my home in here" the zebra commented as she looked around the Everfree forest. Blood Moon nodded.

"It's my friend Fluttershy you see, she's been afflicted with Poison Joke, believe me." Zecora put a hoof to her chin as she thought.

"Fluttershy you say, come inside and we'll talk more, okay?" She stepped back and bid him enter, the assassin nodding graciously as he stepped inside and looked around the inside of Zecora's home; it was decorated with more masks and hanging bottles, much more of them sitting on shelves and they were all around the place, so many that Blood Moon could barely see the walls behind them; in the middle of the hut, a large cauldron sat, brimming with some kind of bubbling, green potion; candles around the room kept the place warmly lit, it was friendly and welcoming but wasn't so bright as to disrupt the mysterious atmosphere; a few stick of incense stood around the room, the burning ends letting off smooth and sweet fumes that filled the room comfortably. "I noticed that you are armed" she commented, nodding at his blades "though I would be lying if I said I was alarmed. It is the errand of fools, who come in here without the right tools" she said as she went about making a cup of something. Blood Moon had acknowledged her comment with a glance her way with a small grin that agreed with her, before he looked around her home some more.

"A nice place you have here, you take care of your home, it is clear" he complemented as he paid more attention to the subtle and delicate atmosphere that must have taken months to perfect.

He looked at Zecora herself; she had a kind and impossibly pretty face, a softly curving jaw bone and small muzzle, wearing a sweet smile on her lips; her black and light grey fur cast stripes over her face and body, three below her eyes, a patch on her muzzle and two on top of her head, spanning from the base of the black stripes of her black and white Mohawk mane, her tail was tied at her flank, but she let it flow freely after that, the stripes circled her legs and spanned over her back in a spike like patterns; she had a nice body, strong but shapely, giving her a more hard that soft figure apart from the plump, soft, sweet and heart shaped flank that seemed to sway more than a pony's; as with most of her kind, she didn't have a cutie mark, or at least not one a pony could identify, instead she had what the assassin could only guess was her tribe's insignia, it was a long, tightly twisting spiral with triangles surrounding it, prompting the stallion to think her of the 'eclipsed sun' tribe; over her body she wore a few pieces of ceremonial jewellery, a golden earring in each ear and five gold hoops going up her neck and four on her left fore-leg; she had bright, wide, beautiful eyes that had black rims going around them, her dark blue eyes were brought out by the makeup though, with her already pretty face, he found it a little unnecessary. Her midnight-blue orbs spoke many things to the assassin, her skills as an alchemist not least among them, but he also saw an overly out of place amount of knowledge on and in using magic, it was an eyebrow raiser but it didn't faze him; it wouldn't be the first time he'd met somepony who could use magic and wasn't a unicorn.

"Not to mention your beauty in itself, staring too long would not be good for my health." Zecora blushed and giggled in to her hoof as she sat at a circular table.

"I thank you, my good sir. Now sit, it was Fluttershy wasn't it, tell me about what ails her." Blood Moon sat at the table that was off to the side of her home, adjacent to Zecora, and refused a cup of her brew with a polite shake of his head.

"Poison Joke, as I said, I seek to cure her or the consequences I dread." Zecora grinned as she sipped at her wooden cup.

"Ahh yes, Poison Joke, aptly named by you pony folk" she commented. "My services are what you seek, and I will give you a hoof, so to speak. My skills are not reserved, but there are certain formalities to be observed. May I, if it would not be a pain, ask respectively of your name?" Blood Moon grunted and bowed his head.

"My name is known by the far between and few, and many of them know it in fear, this is true. It is known to herald doom and gloom, though I digress, I am known as Blood Moon." Zecora raised an eyebrow.

"Blood Moon, I believe I've heard of you once or twice" she narrowed her eyes at him, more questioning than threatening, but still there "those who meet you tend to pay the price." The assassin smirked.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. Only those who deserve it die tend to follow that fate, not the whole lot. Besides which, those days are in my past, my days as an assassin did not, it would seem, last." Zecora nodded.

"I see, the path of redemption is tricky to be sure, but is a worthy road for those who can endure" she said, nodding in approval. The assassin cocked his head to the side.

"I do not seek redemption. I harbour no regrets, just a simple desire for recreation." Zecora shrugged.

"Either way, I digress; you came here for my help to fix up a mess." She stood and went to her shelves, moving around and looking for something. "I know how to cure fair 'Shy, but it seems my stock of the necessary ingredients has gone dry" she told him, putting a hoof to her chin. "I know what I need to do, but I may need some help from you. Stay here and stir this pan" she said, referring to the cauldron in the middle of the room. When she was about to speak again, she noticed the incense had burned out; the small stubs that had been left from the once long sticks now had a small trail of smoke drifting up from them, quickly dispersing and dying. Her eyes expanded hugely, and she whipped her head to the assassin, who was watching with a raised eyebrow. "Uhhh, change of plan" she said as she glanced left and right, a pink blush kissing her cheeks. "I need, instead, for you to go gather what I need; you'll find everything within a few leagues." The zebra cantered over to a small sack and peered inside, holding her flank way higher than necessary, her tail lifted with it, revealing her moistened marehood to the stallion. Weather it was intentional or not was lost on Blood Moon.

"Alright" he said at length with an eyebrow raised, unable to tear his eyes away from her slit and moving to the door, eager to get out before she noticed his steadily growing stallionhood. "Tell me what I need, and I'll be back before the night." Zecora pulled her head out of the sack, biting her lower lip in panic.

"Um, of course" she gave him a list with a bunch of plants, herbs and vegetation on it. The assassin looked it over and raised an eyebrow at some of the ingredients. "Simply look around the area about my home, and you'll soon discover their source" she explained.

"Dead tree root cutting, Imploded jasmine leafs, Nirnroot and Poison Joke extract? Discord's antlers, this is some rare stuff, but still, so be it if this is my contract" he said, frowning at the page.

"They are what they be, but I must ask you to fetch them promptly. Now please go" she lowered her voice massively "else you be treated to a show." The assassin looked up from the sheet.

"What did you say?" Zecora had already trotted out, galloped out really, and left him to himself. "Eh, what the hay" he shrugged as he trotted out of her hut, grabbing a brown, one-sided saddlebag and strapping it over his sheaths and letting it hang on the other side of his weapons, in search of the items on the list.

It was an amusing game, gathering the things needed to make the cure to Poison Joke cure; Dead tree is known by its burnt and dead-like appearance as well as its ability to kill a pony on contact, so cutting off a piece of its root was quite the challenge when he had to unearth the root without touching it, slice of a bit of it and wrap it in a few big leaves he'd found nearby. You may be thinking that this would be no challenge to a unicorn, what with their powers of levitation, but considering that this particular piece of vegetation was immune to most forms of magic, this heightened the difficulty of the task immeasurably and left him excruciatingly annoyed with the plant by the time he had put it in his saddlebag. Crossing the item off his rather unorthodox shopping list, he set out for the next ingredient; Imploded jasmine. The plant was another breed of the strange and unique vegetation that grew in the Everfree; it got its name from what it did and was capable of, that being its defence system. Cacti have spines, roses have thorns and Imploded jasmine could form a black hole when feeling threatened. The word 'overkill' didn't cut it. The trick to gathering the leaves was to sneak up on the plant and nab them before it could fire up its space/time bending defences, escaping before you are caught in the pull and it was only Blood Moon's speed that allowed him to avoid being sucked into oblivion. Next was nirnroot, the easiest so far; on the surface it was a pair of blue-green leaves sticking out of the ground, an eerie white glow surrounding it; it emitted a unique chiming sound that could be heard from afar, but warded off any who would attempt to eat it, that said, it was highly poisonous to any and all who tried it; it could be used in potions, sure, but it had to be prepared properly unless you wanted a poison instead of something to heal. Blood Moon plucked a few of the herbs from the ground and trotted on, searching for the last ingredient he needed, the poison Joke extract. He discovered the blue plant before long, and he was wary not to step into it. He took his blade and slashed the blue head from the stem, placing it carefully into the saddlebag. Done with gathering what he needed, he set on his way to return to Zecora.

Upon arriving at the Sharman's hut, he knocked on the door and waited. He got no answer. He raised his eyebrow and tested the door, finding it unlocked and pushed it open. The inside of Zecora's hut seemed deserted, the pot in the middle was still bubbling but with nopony tending to it. He also noticed that there was now a new stick of incense burning, but rather than a pleasant scent, there was a strange smell in the air.

"Ah, Blood Moon, you have come back" Zecora said from a small cupboard, she still had her tail held very high and seemed to be pushing her hind-legs together, pushing her tight, heart shaped, sweaty flank… The assassin shook the thoughts from his head and tried to ignore his hardening stallionhood as he watched the zebra turn to him. "And you have what I need in your sack" she finished as she approached. Blood Moon suddenly felt weird, lightheaded and woozy. "Something the matter, dear Blood Moon, you look as though you're about to swoon" she commented with a slight smirk on her face as she approached and unbuckled the saddlebag, brushing against his member and stroking it with her hoof as she unstrapped the satchel. The assassin, once again, didn't know if it was intentional or not. He felt his eyelids get heavy and started having trouble keeping them open.

"I'm-I'm alright, just put a cushion there" he pointed to a spot on the floor to his left, where his head would land if he fell "if you would, and we'll see how I fair" he finished as he fell to the right. Zecora watched as he fell, smiling proudly to herself as she did.

"Please forgive me Blood Moon, all will be revealed soon" she whispered to his unconscious form as she removed his cloak, vest, hood and weapons before she bound his fore-hooves behind his back and leaving his hind-legs free, letting them spread as she got an eyeful of his erect stallion hood, liking her lips as she got a whiff of his sent. She went to the incense sticks and put them out; she'd made them herself, a concoction that put out a stallion mere seconds after inhaling it. Now that she'd put it out, she'd have around four hours until he awoke. Plenty of time. She added the herbs and roots to the base mix already in her cauldron and watched as the antidote bubbled into existence; gathering a small bottle of it and throwing her cloak over her back, she set on her way to Fluttershy's home, she didn't need to take the pathway, she knew the best way to Ponyville and knew she could get there, cure Fluttershy and get back with plenty of time to spare. As she stepped over the fresh hold she gave a parting glance to the unconscious Blood Moon; she didn't like deceiving him and drugging him like this, but all the same…

Heat did the strangest things to the dame.

* * *

Blood Moon opened his eyes, not without much difficulty, and gazed around himself, taking stock of his predicament; his hooves were bound behind his back and his gear was across the room, not on him; his stallionhood was still erect and he had no idea why, he could only guess it had something to do with the drugs in the incense. He grunted; that clever zebra, hiding a sleeping drug in an incense stick. He'd have to use that one. He noticed Zecora in front of him, lying on her side, propping her head up with her hoof, with a seductive look on her face.

"Good morning my fair stallion" she said as she stood and trotted over to him. She stooped with her muzzle not an inch away from his, looking down at his member and running her hoof down his chest, getting steadily closer to his sex. "Now, are you ready for some fun?"

"Would it be okay, if I asked you 'WHAT THE HAY'?" Zecora almost flinched but didn't back down.

"Please calm down, and I'll tell all" she gripped his cock, much the same as Twilight had, and lay on her front. "After, of course, I go to town." With a grin, she lowered her muzzle and let her tongue out, running it up his length and flicking it off at the tip, making the stallion growl and wriggle about.

"Okay, for one; what have you gone and done?" Zecora was suckling on his balls as he spoke, kissing them as he finished.

"I must be honest" a drop of pre-cum dribbled from his member, she gathered it on her hoof and licked it off. "Hmm, so sweet. But as I was saying, I am in heat" she told him as she went back to licking around the shaft, short smacks and suckles sounding whenever her lips made contact with it.

"Okay, heat, fair enough. I see this is no bluff" he told her. "So that was what the incense was for, to mask the smell of a whore." Zecora glared up at him, putting her teeth to his balls. "OW, sorry, my bad; it was the only rhyme I had" he admitted. The zebra licked and kissed his maleness, over where she'd punished him for his choice of words.

"I suppose it's alright, I apologise for that little bite." Sucking, kissing and licking over his cock again, but not taking him in, she managed to prompt a few more drops of pre to fall from his tip and onto her awaiting tongue. "Please allow me to sooth your pain, else my efforts to pleasure you, will all be in vain." She raised her face from his shaft with a grin on her lips, closing her eyes and flicking her tongue over the tip and pressing it between her chin and the assassin's member, her hot breath making him shudder. She noticed his reaction and giggled. "Enjoying yourself I see" she mused, kissing him up the length of his cock before she repositioned her hooves, one grabbing his member and the other going between her hind-legs. "I can only guess Twilight would not be overcome with glee." Blood Moon narrowed his eyes, only for them to snap wide open when she took him in properly, Zecora looking up at him and giggling around his dick.

"Now that you mention Twilight, you must have told her something to keep her away, am I right?" The zebra released him and ran her hoof up and down it to keep it busy.

"Your theory is true, I told her you stayed to help me with a brew" she revealed before she started kissing his tip again.

"Bull crap, you're telling me she fell for that trap?" Zecora had opened her mouth to take him in again, closing it in frustration and rolling her eyes.

"I can be very persuasive when I want to be, now would mind if we stop with the chatter so I can get to pleasuring thee?" She didn't wait for him to answer, instead she busied herself with blowing the assassin. The stallion gritted his teeth and growled, thrusting into her maw a little, when he felt her skilled lips around his member. She bobbed her head up and down quickly, groaning whenever she hit the base, and lapping her tongue along it. She took him to the roots and lingered for a while, moving her throat around to massage him while keeping him in the hot confines of her maw "Your marefriend is a lucky mare, now that I have you laid bare" she murmured as she pulled back, gasping for breath.

"You use me for your own gains, bound and trapped in these makeshift chains" he scolded as he felt the ropes that bound him.

"Yes, alright you caught me, now sit back and enjoy before I up the ante" she cooed, speaking around his cock, sending vibrations through his system. He looked down at the zebra and watched as she closed her eyes, hiding her dark blue orbs, and concentrated on running her lips and tongue up and down his cock, feeling him throb inside her as she worked him closer to orgasm. The assassin took advantage of her distraction and worked on freeing himself. The mare opened her eyes and turned her eyes up to him, smiling with her mouth full as she saw his pleasured face before she kept up her movements for a long while before she felt him throb more and more between her lips, getting progressively faster until…

"Zecora, my horny little friend, I think I'm about to hit…my…end" he managed to growl out before he came, the zebra releasing him and holding her tongue out, catching as much of his seed as she could on it before swallowing it down, licking her lips clean of any that lingered.

"Such a nice load" she said breathlessly, still tasting his seed on her tongue "just look at the way it flowed" she commented, pointing at the small puddle of cum between them. "Now, I hope you're not spent, for now it's time for the main event" the zebra hummed as she lay on her back, legs spread and revealing herself to the assassin. "Hope you like what you see, because you're about to take me" she said with a grin. Blood Moon couldn't help but look her body up and down; her belly was muscled and toned, but not unattractively so; her marehood was dripping and she rubbed her sex along his, wetting herself and hardening the stallion; her fur down there was a cute, neat little tuff, standing out from her body by being slightly raised from her fur. She gave him a show by closing her hind-legs and raising them slowly, running her hoof over her ass and playfully winking at him, touching herself around her pussy and flicking her clit a little before she ran her hooves over her flank again, rougher this time, and gripped her beautiful plot in her hooves. The assassin couldn't deny he enjoyed the view. Zecora got up from her back, moving gracefully over to the stallion and clambered up him. Her plan was to sit on his member while he was sat on his flank and ride him while he sat. What she didn't expect was for him to push off the wall and pin her down, an unbearable grin on his muzzle.

"Well, what do we have here? My pretty little zebra, looking up at me in fear" he mused, still holding her struggling form down. He lowered his still grinning muzzle to hers, watching as she squirmed in his hold and tried to pull herself away from the assassin's sinisterly smirking face; as he got closer she quit trying to pull away and instead she turned her head left to right as his own got closer. When he was within but a single inch, she stopped moving and stared fearfully into his eyes. He then closed the distance and pushed his lips to hers, catching her in a surprise embrace that she quickly melted into and returned with gusto; the stallion released his hold on her and ran his hooves down her, touching her flank and propping himself up as Zecora wrapped her fore-hooves around his neck and pushed her tongue into his maw, wrestling with his in a small heated battle that she found herself quickly groaning into before he pulled back from, breathing heavily.

"What is this, engaging me in such a passionate kiss" she demanded, smiling with him and breathing just as hard.

"You keep me here, forcing sex from me. Now it's time to pay your fee" he told her as he spun her over and stood her on her hooves, before he leaned over her, rubbing her flank, and spoke into her ear. "My loyalty to Twilight is something I hold dear, I'm going to rut you now, let it be clear" he told her, before he nibbled on her ear a little. Zecora giggled a little rubbing her sex into his.

"If this is your threat, I will not fret" she cooed, spreading her hind-legs a little. "The reason for your being here, is because I want you in my rear." The stallion grinned, rubbing his member up her slit, teasing her as he spoke.

"You're going to enjoy this, don't misunderstand, but in a while, you're not going to be able to stand." Zecora went to turn her head to him, but was interrupted when he rammed his stallionhood into her labia, not softly at all. Zecora was thrown forwards with his powerful thrust; she groaned slightly but was starting to see what he meant about not standing properly.

"Would you mind not being so hard, else I might get sore in my backyard" she said as he pulled back and thrust in again, just as hard as before. The stallion chuckled and leaned in again, holding her waist and kissing her neck slightly.

"Ah, but you see, this is your price for forcing me to sate your vice. To pay your debt, I must make you regret" he told her between more powerful thrusts that were quickly turning her flank pink with raw pain that she didn't exactly dislike.

"What do you mean, your point I cannot glean." He grinned and spoke directly into her ear.

"Is it not plain? As well as pleasure, I'm going to cause you some pain." The zebra swallowed, understanding flooding into her. Her leaned back and thrust into her again, his movements prompting breathless grunts from her maw and the sound of him slapping against her as his thighs made contact with her ass. Zecora was having the time of her life; firstly, she'd never been taken this way by a stallion before, she was no virgin, far from it, but Blood Moon had a way of rutting her that she hadn't felt before; his efforts to both pleasure and sting her made a unique sensation, the pain enhanced the pleasure to a degree that couldn't be reached if he were being gentle with her and she was fairly sure she really wouldn't be able to walk or stand properly for about a week once they were done. Blood Moon was enjoying himself too; the zebra's bubble but was jiggling nicely whenever he slammed into her, red marks quickly developing as he thrust into her, and her walls clamped down on him like a hungry Manticor on a leg of meat, her pussy felling like a vice on his cock; the sound of his thrusts were complemented by Zecora's groans when he pushed into her, reaching deeper into her sex and stimulating her massively between the legs and prompting a waterfall of her juices to fall from between her slit and his maleness and onto her floor. Zecora's legs began to weaken; her hind-legs were held up by the assassin, who held her up by gripping her flank, rubbing her tribal mark and occasionally spanking her, adding to the sweet soreness developing there, but her fore-hooves were quaking and she soon fell to the floor, her lush plot still held high for Blood Moon as he continued to pound her relentlessly, causing her tongue to loll out and her eyes to roll up as her whole body shunted forth when he thrust into her, sending ripples over her ass and making sweat fling off her. The stallion chuckled at her fallen form, leaning forwards and kneading his hooves into her back and shoulders watching her bite her lip as pleasure worked its way up her spine, stimulating all her pleasure receptors at once every time he pumped into her. He leaned up and stood slightly, resting his hooves on her flank and driving into her folds, spreading her without resistance as he continued to pound into her, her pink flanks turning red, and soreness turning to pain.

"Please, though I desire more, you seem to have bucked me raw" she said breathlessly over her shoulder. Her cutely blushed cheeks and the tears welling in the corner of her eyes hit a soft spot with Blood Moon, and he decided to go easy on her. He flipped her over, spreading her hind legs to give himself room, and lay her gently on her back before he leaned in, kissing her smoothly along the neck.

"Fair Zecora my apologies, I think you're done with pain" he leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips, caressing her face gently "now I promise to please" he told her, as he thrust in gently, slowly spreading her walls. Zecora was treated to an entirely new experience, as well as an entirely new stallion; in contrast to his rough treatment of her just now, his gentle and loving embrace stimulated a whole new set of nerves, as well as a whole new set of emotions. He held her head up with his fore-leg as he bucked her, slowing and making sure she was alright if so much as an even _slightly _pained sound came from her. He sat back and held one of her hind-legs, stroking it up and down, fondling her plot lightly when he hit it and thrusting in deeper when he hit the hoof, hugging it slightly as he got closer to his orgasm. The pair gradually got closer and closer to their climaxes, the assassin swiftly picking up speed but being careful not to harm her further, while Zecora was moving her own hips to complement Blood Moon's movements, causing his balls to slap against her ass hole. Zecora no longer had pain on her face, just pleasure in its purest form; a small smile was stretched over her lips, a trail of drool running from her maw, her eyes were closed in total concentration on the rutting she was receiving and her whole body was relaxed, her fore-hooves were resting on her front while her hind-legs were at the mercy of Blood Moon, who still held one in his grip and let the other rest limp, shifting slightly as he thrust into her. The pair moved in tandem, ecstasy pulsing through them as they worked, him driving into her as she bucked her hips against him, prompting groans from both of them that increased in frequency as they got closer to their climax. The zebra started groaning more, her pleasured noises becoming breathless, her back arching every time he hit deep and her smile getting wider with every shunt.

"Blood Moon, I will not lie, my end is nigh" she managed to groan out, back arching as she spoke. Blood Moon thrust harder, the two groaning in ecstasy at once, before he pushed in deep and held it there.

"Not to make a fuss, but that makes two of us" he grunted. He leaned forwards and kissed her; risqué, wet, loud and sexy before he pulled back. "Tell me honey; would you like it in your cunny?" Zecora definitely considered it, wiggling her ass around and clenching her walls around him as she thought; cumming with Blood Moon would, no doubt, be one of the most satisfying orgasms she would ever experience, if the rest of their session of passion was anything to go by, but she wasn't willing to be impregnated for it.

"The prospect of foals I'd rather pass, so please, do it in my ass" she said. The stallion nodded, leaning forwards and nipping at her neck as he started his thrusts again, prompting breathless squeals from her, getting more and more ragged until she-

"My sweet stallion, I think I'm reaching the end of our-" she didn't finish, instead she was hit by a powerful shockwave of stimulation to her pleasure receptors and came, came hard around the assassin's cock, almost sending him over the edge before he could pull out and ram into her ass, coming heavily into her not a second after he'd penetrated her. They stayed connected for a while, riding out their orgasms together until it ended, Blood Moon giving a long and stretched out growl as Zecora screamed. When their powerful orgasms had ended, they found themselves in a rather agreeable position; the stallion was rested on Zecora, his dick still in her tight ass, something he now wished had taken part in their sex, and was breathing hard onto her, as the zebra did the same, a cute blush on her cheeks and a trail of drool sticking to her fur. Cum was still dripping from Zecora's ass and slit, collecting and adding to a small puddle that was gathering beneath their sexes, a sheet of shimmering sweat coating both their bodies and both still taking heavy, ragged breaths. The stallion withdrew his member, letting a small shower of cum and juices flow from her femness, ass and leaked from his stallionhood, flowing onto her ass. Zecora cringed slightly. "Ow, my-my ass is in disrepair, please, if you would be so kind, give it some care" she begged from her position, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she spoke. Blood Moon nodded, turning her onto her front and leaning down to her red and sore flank. He pulled a cloth from across the room and wiped away his and her cum, prompting a few pained squeals from Zecora. He kissed her pained ass tenderly, caressing her gently to try and sooth her as he continued to lick, kiss and just generally love that fine, perfect, round, beautiful ass of hers that he found himself quickly falling in love with more and more as he kissed her all over it, sneaking in a few licks of her pussy while he was at it, as he softly healed her sore rear-end with his gentle touch. He got up and made to mount her, but instead he rubbed his still stiff, wet and messy member along her plot cheeks, massaging her and using their combined cum as an erotic salve that he rubbed into her flank smoothly and softly, as he took care of the pain he'd caused. Zecora put her fore-hooves under chin, smiling contently to herself as she relaxed, getting slowly turned on by him once more. "Hmm, you feel good around my ass. You make me feel better after your…rough caress." He grinned at her rhyme, lifting her and carrying her over to her bed, something he now wished he'd seen earlier, and gently laid her on it. He looked over her some more until he fell forwards, onto Zecora and took to kissing around her face, neck and lips as he rolled off her and lay beside her.

"I…I, buck, I can't think of a rhyme" he said, as she retiring to nuzzling into his neck and breathing deeply, taking in the scent of sweat and sex. The assassin picked her up with his magic, covering her with the leopard skin sheet; he went to walk away but couldn't carry himself, so resorted to falling back into the bed where Zecora giggled at him, stroking his mane and prompting him to look over at her.

"You seem tired. If you can't walk, you could rest with me, if you desired" she told him, holding one side of the sheets up for him. Too exhausted to argue, he climbs in with her and takes to holding her as she snuggled into him, getting cosy. Blood Moon stroked her mane as she kissed him tenderly while she drifted quickly fell to sleep, the stallion following soon after, falling to sleep with their tongues still in each other's mouths.

* * *

Blood Moon's eye fluttered open, awakening to the sight of a still sleeping Zecora, who was smiling softly, likely at their past actives, and breathing softly, noticing he was still kissing her. He grinned to himself and kissed her lightly before he pulled back, groaning as he woke up and stretching his back out, cracking his neck, spine and legs as he attempted to get up but found himself being held down by a pair of shapely, black and white striped legs around his own.

"Going so soon, my dear Blood Moon" she asked with a playful grin on her face. The assassin smirked as he looked down at the mare and her sultry expression. He ran a hoof down the side of her face, caressing her cheek.

"Zecora, please forgive me, but I must be returning presently" he told her, watching her pout cutely.

"Hmm, I suppose it's true what you tell, at least let me-" he cut her off by leaning down and pushed his lips to hers, feeling her grin into their kiss and push her tongue into his maw, the assassin returning the gesture and wrestling her own as while he explored her mouth, feeling inside her mouth and making a good time of it until he pulled back, a strand of saliva between them. "Kiss you farewell" she finished, quietly. Blood Moon tapped her on the nose.

"I'll see you around, should you need me again, you know where I may be found" he said, as he straightened up and bowed his goodbye. He pulled his garb and weapons over to him with his magic before he trotted to the door and opened it, turning to her and giving one last smile. "I bid thee goodbye, I fair ally" he said before he flashed and disappeared, leaving Zecora still grinning before she fell back onto her bed, thinking about what had just happened with a content smile on her face and a hoof drifting between her hind-legs.

Blood Moon appeared at the outskirts of Fluttershy's cottage, Celestia's setting sun casting an orange glow over her home. His small smirk quickly washed from his face when a self-hating snarl replaced it, now ashamed at what he'd done with Zecora. He tried to argue that he was honour bound to assist a mare who was in dire need of relief of their lust through heat, it was said to get unbearable at times and although he'd never experienced it himself, judging by how frisky they got, and at times how desperate, he could only guess it was a bad need. With a shrug, he decided to tell Twilight the truth, the whole truth, in hopes of her understanding. He pushed through the door and found the CMC, Sand Stalker and Elements of harmony, minus Fluttershy and Twilight, down stairs, simply sitting in companionable silence.

"Hi darling, have fun with Zecora" Rarity asked obliviously. Blood Moon simply smirked and nodded, glancing at Scootaloo and winking at her.

"Yeah, we made a potion to try and make a pony immune to Poison Joke effects, but instead it came out as paint thinner that almost burnt through the cauldron" he lied, easily, as he pulled his garb and weapons off of him and set them on a nearby hook. Rarity chuckled before she spoke.

"Speaking of Poison Joke, Twilight and Fluttershy are upstairs in the bathroom, getting the Poison Joke out of the poor dear's system" she told him. Mentally, Blood Moon flinched; that was going to be awkward. He trotted upstairs and found the door to the bathroom, the way his last time here ended didn't help him, but either way he knocked on the door. From inside, he heard Twilight's voice.

"Who is it" she asked.

"It's me, Blood Moon" he called back. He heard Twilight say something to Fluttershy inside, but couldn't make it out. The door opened to reveal both Fluttershy and Twilight standing side by side.

"Bedroom. Now" Twilight ordered. He nodded and complied, trotting to the room everypony was sleeping in. Once there, he made his way inside and turned to watch Fluttershy and Twilight follow him in, blocking any exit through the door.

"How are you" the stallion asked Fluttershy, curious as to how the cure had worked out.

"Better" she answered in her normal voice; she was quiet but seemed more confident, as though she was prepared to start talking about something. "Blood Moon" she started, glancing at Twilight "me and Twilight have been talking." The assassin swallowed.

"About?"

"About what happened yesterday" Twilight answered. The stallion swallowed again. "Blood Moon, I'm gonna tell you now, I know what happened between you and Fluttershy." He got ready to teleport to a cliff and throw himself off of it.

"Twilight, listen, I can explain-"

"No, Blood Moon, you listen" she cut off "I'm going to put this simply, so listen good" she told him. The way she was talking was doing wonders for his guilt about sleeping with Zecora. "Blood Moon; thank you for staying loyal to me, and doing your best to keep it up, and I love you for it, but it's obvious Fluttershy feels the same way about you" she said as she approached, Fluttershy doing the same. "I want you to understand…" Blood Moon backed up to the wall and was quickly backing himself into a corner; he'd taken on dragons alone, faced alicorns, griffons, manticors and took the fight to a legion of Changelings single-hoofed before, and never had he felt so outnumbered. The pair of mares continued to advance on him until his back was against the wall; it was now he would normally shout out some kind of battle cry, 'my back's against the wall' or 'an animal is most dangerous when cornered' and fought back, but this wasn't one of those kinds of situations, he couldn't pull his blades and fight his marefriend and a mare who loved him and not want to kill himself afterwards. He swallowed a final time when he felt his flank hit the wall and couldn't back away any longer. Twilight and Fluttershy kept moving in, his instincts kicking in as his magic focused on his blades as their faces moved closer to his own. He stopped trying to kid himself and killed the telekinesis around his weapons, closing his eyes in a pre-emptive flinch, and waited his reprimand. He was taken by surprise when he felt something hot, wet and nice on either cheek and opened his eyes to see both Fluttershy and Twilight either side of him, right and left respectively, with their faces close to his, with their eyes closed and a small blush kissing both their cheeks as they kissed his. "That I don't mind, if you and Fluttershy like each other, who am I to stand in the way?" The record scratched. Confusion practically hit the assassin in the gut, as the question took him from the left and right wing at once and made his eyebrow rise, almost of its own accord.

"W-what, I don't understand" he told them, both having leant back and had small smiles on their faces at the stallion's reaction at their advances. Twilight giggled as Fluttershy answered.

"Equestria is a place of love, harmony and friendship; who's to say that a stallion or mare doesn't fall in love with more than one stallion or mare. As long as it's true love it's not frowned upon, but somepony who sleeps around or keeps more than one wife, husband, coltfriend or marefriend without the other partner being aware or giving consent is seen as cheating on his or her first partner" she explained. The assassin just blinked.

"What" he demanded. He'd been alive for almost all of Equestria's existence; its establishment between Princess Platinum, Chancellor Puddinghead and Commander Hurricane; Discord taking over and the wars between him and the Illuminating Night uprising; as well as all of Celestia's rain and never ONCE had he heard about this fact. That actually troubled him, the fact that he was unaware about such a thing and he'd been unaware for so long. He could only guess it was because he'd never taken much interest in the whole 'facts about relationships' life lessons because he'd never been interested in the idea of dating more than one mare, never wanted to, he'd been adamant that his loyalty in a mare he dated would always trump any chance of him doing such a thing; then again, as per said, he'd never been in many proper relationships and almost all of them had been under a ruse or alias. Hmm, that got him thinking; much of his life had been under some kind of lie or falsehood or deceit that made it impossible to hold together any kind of relationship, it just wouldn't have been practical for him at the time, not under his circumstances at the time, or his occupation. Now, however, he had a chance, he had the opportunity for a proper and healthy relationship with a mare that loved him, him Blood Moon, not some lie or made up personality but him in himself. For the assassin, that wasn't the type of thing to happen very often, and he'd taught himself the following lesson when it came to this kind of thing; 'life's a bitch, but the best thing you can do is pick it up by the collar and spit in its face, telling it that you don't care about the consequences, no matter how much you've thought about it, because it's chances like this that you don't pass up because even though you know there's bound to be something evil lurking around the corner, and we fear most what we don't understand and what we don't know, it's that kind of thing that's most fun in life as well.' He looked between the two, and considered how to respond. Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other. "Alright Twi, I'm gonna tell you now before you both make me forget, through my mind being broke in utter awe at what you just said; when I was at Zecora's, we weren't potion mixing." Twilight cocked her head to the side, Fluttershy looking just as curious as to what he had to say. "I was helping her with a problem." Twilight frowned.

"What kind of problem" she asked. The assassin steeled himself.

"An…intimate one" he replied sceptically.

"You-you and her…bucked" she said, growing quiet at the end. He nodded once.

"Heat" he said simply. The mares, to his utter confusion, seemed to relax at that.

"Oh, she was in season?" He nodded again. Her eyes bulged. "Did you and her...y'know together?" Blood Moon shook his head.

"No, she didn't want foals. Twilight, listen, I…I was honour bound to help her; I'm bound by the code of the Shadow weavers to assist a mare in heat." Both Twilight and Fluttershy looked at the floor, bashfully, as they remembered their first heats. It just so happened to have happened to them both…in the very room they were standing in…together, that being one of the reasons they felt a little closer to each other than their other friends, not so much that they could pick up on it but just so much that they acted just a little more…'relaxed' around each other.

"I-I guess that's okay, if you were helping her. Me and 'Shy both know how…awkward it can get when there's a stallion around" they glanced at each other "or a mare" she finished. The assassin raised an eyebrow; he suspected but brushed it off as his horny side making him think such things. "Listen, I don't want you to think I'm okay with you sleeping around but if a mare needs that…kind of help, just know I'm…not happy about it but I'll understand, just tell us okay." The assassin's eye widened at such a motion, such understanding and sort of froze.

"I think we broke him" Fluttershy commented, Twilight nodded silently, waving a hoof in his face.

"I-I don't really know how to respond to something like that" he told them "I'm not sure what to say." Both Twilight and Fluttershy giggled at his answer, moving in at once and kissing him between each other, the stallion kissing them back as he fell to his flank as they stood over him, each of the mares kissing him before they pulled back and let the other move in, nuzzling him as she did. The stallion's lips met Twilights but before she could pull back Fluttershy had moved in, and they found themselves all kissing one another at once; sometimes it would be Blood Moon and Twilight, sometimes him and Fluttershy and at one rather awkward, and for the assassin remarkably hot, point, it was Fluttershy and Twilight. The two found their lips touching and their eyes snapped open and the leaned back, though they didn't disconnect. Fluttershy blinked and Twilight followed her example before they both glanced at Blood Moon and saw a small grin slowly stretching across his face; they glanced into each other's eyes and grinned into each other's maws and moved their lips around in sync as they reengaged the kiss they now shared with each other as well as Blood Moon. The mares giggled into each other's mouths and the stallion smirked when he felt the three of them share the kiss at once, tongues jumping into the mix now and then. After a while they all pulled back, breathing heavily as they looked at each other, Twilight and Fluttershy grinning and blushing bashfully at each other when they tried to look at each other, while the stallion felt his stallionhood hardening for the fourth time in a day. "So, uhhh, that happened" the assassin observed. Twi and 'Shy nodded, still incapable of looking at each other.

"I…I guess it did" the magenta mare agreed. They sat in silence for a while longer.

"So, what are we now" the stallion asked, looking at the pair of mares in front of him. "'Cause for starters, you two seem a lot closer than before" he said, noticing how neither Fluttershy nor Twilight had moved away from each other, despite their embrace having ended. They looked at each other before they looked at Blood Moon and pushed him onto Fluttershy's bed, following him down and laying either side of him, their hooves draping over his chest and idly tracing patterns across his chest fur.

"I'm not altogether sure" Twilight told him as he took her hoof with his own "but I think I like it" she told him. Fluttershy took their hooves in her own, snuggling into the assassin's neck.

"I-I guess this means I won't have to hide the way I feel anymore" she said, speaking quietly into his ear. He grinned and turned to her.

"I guess we won't" he agreed, before he turned to Twilight "as long as my marefriend agrees to it" he said. Twilight gave him a smile, and clambered up on top of him, prompting the animal caretaker to do the same.

"Blood Moon, I just kissed one of my best friends because of how much I love you, a mare to boot, you don't seem to understand" she turned her face to Fluttershy and turned her muzzle to her own, pushing their lips together, the butter yellow mare being taken completely off guard by this before she pulled back with a small grin on her face "that I may have been turned into a filly fondler by the stallion I love" she finished. The stallion blinked.

"W-w-w-what" he demanded, completely taken off guard by this turn of events. Fluttershy's cheeks were as pink as her mane.

"Good question" she said. Twilight giggled as she turned to her.

"Fluttershy, you do understand that now that you and Blood Moon are dating as well as me and him, you and me are dating each other just as much" she explained.

"What" he repeated "so if, for instance, you were to date another stallion, I would be dating him as well as you" he said, more for himself than anypony else. Twilight put a hoof to her chin.

"Well, technically, me and Fluttershy aren't actually dating, but it's easier if we do" she replied. Blood Moon cocked his head to the side in a confusion he was about to test.

"Wait a second, what you said just now, a heat with another mare around…did either of you…" he trailed off, his point clear and made, judging by the blush that Twilight and Fluttershy now had on their faces.

"Well…well I guess we…did. It-it was just a onetime thing, we were feeling the same way and we weren't sure what was happening…one thing lead to another…" The stallion looked between them with a small grin once again growing on his face.

"So…you were a filly fondler in the first place" he observed, his grin turning into a knowing smirk "well, it explains why you were open to getting a little frisky." He frowned. "And it wasn't me who had you fooling with Fluttershy he added. Twilight shrugged bashfully.

"Well, we hadn't done anything for a year or so until you came along and…inspired us to rekindle our…" she glanced at Fluttershy, who was looking at her with wide eyes and a steadily growing blush "affection" she finished, nuzzling her yellow furred friend, who gladly nuzzled back. The assassin grinned at the scene; at both the view and the idea that he may have helped bring the two of them together, that said, he hadn't seen it coming. He watched gladly as their nuzzling tempted to more kissing until a thought popped into his head.

"But couldn't this jeopardize your friendship" he asked. Twilight looked at him.

"Why would it do that" she asked.

"If anything unfortunate were to happen between us, all of us, isn't there the possibility of it driving you apart?" The mares looked at each other, horrified at their friendship being pulled apart. Fluttershy steeled herself.

"No, we won't let that happen, if we stay together and-and" she looked between Twi and Blood Moon, before she pulled them both in and engaged them in a short three way kiss. "We make sure to be together forever, nothing can pull us apart" she said confidently. Proud of her self-confidence, Twilight wrapped her in a hug as Blood Moon wrapped them both in one and held them tight.

"So, do we tell anypony" the stallion asked. They all thought about it and came to the same conclusion.

"Let's keep it between us for now, wait until this whole thing has blown over and we have a moment to think about this while we don't have to worry about our" she gave a mocking, glamorous throw of her mane "unbridled passion to worry about" she said playfully, prompting a few laughs.

"Or the guards" Blood Moon added. They went a bit quiet at that, lying with each other for a while until they heard the sound of hooves coming up the stairs. "Alright, let's cut this short" he turned his head to Fluttershy and kissed her "Fluttershy…" she smiled and pecked him on the nose.

"I love you too" she told him. The assassin grinned and turned to Twilight.

"Twilight" he started, before he leaned in and kissed her, teleporting them both to her bed just as the CMC, Pinkie Pie and Rarity trotted in. Scootaloo spotted him and smiled, before he motioned for her to come over. She cantered over to him gladly and leapt up onto the bed before she leapt up onto him.

"Hey daddy" she said, hugging him. The stallion hugged back, the same fond smile coming back as he ran his hoof along her mane. Twilight looked on with a smile that spoke 'dawww' very clearly before she realised what Scootaloo had just said.

"Daddy" she repeated, her eyebrow raised. Blood Moon and Scootaloo looked at her.

"Yeah, when I went to pick her and the fillies up yesterday Cheerilee said I couldn't pick them up if I wasn't related, so I decided to tell her I was her dad" he told her "now, I guess you could say that I am her father" he explained, as the orang filly nuzzled him. Twilight looks surprised.

"So…you adopted her" she asked. The assassin looked at the filly.

"No, but I don't think I need to just yet." He looked at the filly in his hooves and back at Twilight, he decided he needed to talk to her in private. He built the magic in his horn and fired up the powerful spell, freezing time around him and Twilight, the others being suspended in an everlasting second. Twilight looked around herself, amazed at what he had done.

"B-Blood Moon, what did you do" she asked, awe clear in her voice.

"Froze time all over Equestria" he said with a shrug "I needed to talk to you about Scoots" he told her. Twi nodded, not quite believing that he would use such a powerful and complex spell just to talk with her in private. "I'm not adopting Scootaloo" he told her. The mare looked a little disappointed.

"Why not" she asked, as the assassin looked down at the frozen filly in front of him.

"I don't think I need to" he said with a look on his face that told Twilight he wasn't sure how he knew what he did. "Scootaloo is the kind of filly anypony with a heart would want to adopt, the only reason I'm not is because if I ever have foals, they'll be my own children" he explained. His marefriend nodded understandingly.

"I understand" she told him, before a thought crossed her mind "have you ever had foals before" she asked. The stallion swallowed, he mimed his magical reserves weakening, and slowly killed the spell without answering.

"Besides, this is nothing official" he said, flawlessly moving back into his conversation before he's cast his time bend. Scootaloo nuzzled him again.

"I don't mind, I just want my daddy, I don't need anypony else to know it" she told him, still hugging him. Applebloom and Sweetie-Belle looked over at them.

"Blood Moon IS your pa" Applebloom asked, reminding the stallion, filly and mare that they were in the company of others. The assassin and Scootaloo glanced at each other.

"Yeah, I guess I am" he answered. The other two fillies just blinked and froze up for a second before the leapt up shouting 'awesome' at once. They bounded over to their friend and dived onto her, landing more on the assassin than the filly, Blood Moon letting out a small grunt when he felt them land on his stomach.

"This is great, you got a daddy" Sweetie-Belle said, hopping in place in excitement.

"Yeah, he can help us find our cutie marks" 'Bloom added. The stallion grinned at their exitment.

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do; I mean I already helped out Sweetie-Belle, didn't I" he said. Sweetie-Belle seemed to remember something, as well as the rest of the CMC, and her eyes widened in even more excitement.

"Oo, oo, oo, I almost forgot, the school organised a talent show and the cutie mark crusaders have entered" she practically exploded, a few green sparks of magic firing from her horn.

"That's great" Twilight exclaimed "what's your talent going to be?" The CMC looked between themselves.

"The same as we did last time, but we're gonna change the rolls around this time" she explained. Blood Moon cocked his head to the side, as Scootaloo clambered off him and sat between her friends.

"What do you mean 'same as we did last time'" he asked.

"A little while back the school put on a talent show for the foals, and we did a sort of, 'song and dance' routine" Scootaloo explained, before they looked between each other sheepishly. "It…didn't go so well" she murmured. Blood Moon cocked his head again, a small smirk on his face.

"How do you mean 'not so well'?" The CMC looked even more sheepish.

"Scootaloo wrote the song, ah did the dancing and Sweetie-Belle made the backdrops" Applebloom told him. The stallion grunted a laugh. "After that we thought we could try comedy, but after we tried a few stand-up acts were the crowd fell asleep and one or two practical jokes that backfired, we gave it up."

"I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say that you didn't distribute the jobs properly" he ventured.

"How'd you know" 'Bloom asked.

"Simply filly psychology" he said with a shrug "you're at the age when you start to come across your talents, but at the time you weren't very confident in them so you deviated from them" he rubbed his chin while he thought "let me guess; you helped each other out without realising that you'd done the task naturally?" The fillies, and even Twilight, looked awestruck.

"How-how did you know that?" He shrugged once more.

"Like I said simple psychology, that, and I've been around fillies and colts a lot of my life so I know a lot about how they think" he told them.

"Wow, you're good" Sweetie-Belle said, before she leaned to the right and peered at his cutie mark. "Is that what your special talent is? Psy-pys-Psyicolgy?" The assassin grunted.

"Psychology" he corrected good naturedly "and no, my cutie mark represents something very…different, as well as special, about me" he answered.

"What does it mean" Twilight, this time, asked. Blood Moon looked at his marefriend, then the fillies and then the other mares who were in the room, all of which were looking on with no small amount of interest. With a shrug, he answered.

"It's my…talent, really, pure and simple." He looked Scootaloo in the eye. "A desire for speed and danger, natural grace and a skill at dance and things that involve fast movement" he said, watching as her face grew more and more slack as he spoke.

"Wh-how-I-" she couldn't finish.

"My special talent is just that, your soul" he said "I know everything about you before I've even spoken to you, because I can see your soul." A cold and appropriately mystical wind blew through the room after he had spoken.

"The-the soul" she repeated. She looked at his cutie mark again. "A sword and ouroboros, I don't get it."

"The sword is my ability with a blade, as you could guess, and the ouroboros represents immortality, right?" She nodded. "Your soul is everlasting, so, an ouroboros only makes sense."

"I guess that… works" she murmured.

"So, you can see anypony's soul" Sweetie-Belle asked.

"Why yes I can love for music graceful music, masterful tempo keeper and knowledge of sound as a whole" he answered.

"Do me, do me" Applebloom chanted. He gazed over to her.

"A knack for a hammer and nails, a love for creation, understanding of proper paint usage and an unmatchable love for her family." Twilight stammered as she looked on.

"That-that's…"

"Amazing?"

"Awesome?"

"Try impossible" Twilight almost blurted "no pony can know so much about somepony without some kind of research or knowing about them before-hoof! It-it's almost like Pinkie Pie's Pinkie-sense." Blood Moon glanced at Pinkie Pie with a raised eyebrow.

"Pinkie-sense" he repeated. The pink pony nodded.

"Yeah, I get twitches and stuff when things are about to happen" she explains. Twilight points a hoof at her.

"See, completely impossible, but I guess this is another one of those things I'll just have to accept" she sighed. Blood Moon angled his head and went to talk but instead, Pinkie Pie started shuddering. "Uh-oh" Twilight murmured.

"What is it" the assassin asked.

"A shudder means that there's a doozy about to happen, somethin' you never expected to happen is about to happen" she explained. Unfazed, the stallion continued to observe Pinkie Pie as she continued her antics.

"Y'know, if I had to guess, I'd say that sort of sounded like a gut feeling, just, y'know, a highly accurate and a little eccentric gut feeling" he said with a shrug. Everypony in the room, including Pinkie Pie, stared. "What? You telling me you've never just felt something, like you just knew something was about to happen but could never explain how, or you just knew somepony had entered the room, but you hadn't seen or heard them. Y'know, just a gut instinct that you can't explain. Hay, even I get them now and then, I'm pretty sure the rest of you do too."

"I w-what" Twilight started "what do you mean, a 'gut instinct'? Did you just try to explain the Pinkie-sense?" He shrugged.

"I don't know, I might have but I don't know" he turned to Pinkie "did I?" She blinked once.

"I stopped shuddering; I think that was the doozy." He turned to Twilight looking just a little smug. One look at her face and a glance at everypony else's face told him this wasn't the type of thing to joke about.

"What" he asked again.

"N-nopony explains Pinkie Pie, nopony can, nopony wants to and you just…made it make sense" the purple mare said, gaping at him. "I tried that once with a bunch of brain analysers and stuff and you just… did it with some simple logic, you just…did it in your head?"

"I…guess so" he ventured. Twilight just lay her head on the pillow.

"I don't wanna think about this anymore" she groaned. Blood Moon grunted a laugh and fell beside her.

"Whatever, it's getting late anyway." The fillies returned to their respective beds as they lay there, Twilight mouthing thoughts to herself as she tried to make sense of how he had made sense of what had happened and how her coltfriend had managed to figure out Pinkie Pie. The rest of the elements of harmony, Sand Stalker and Spike entered the room, looking around and getting a 'you don't wanna know' when they asked what was going on.

Settling down for the night, Twilight was still trying to figure out what had happened long after everypony had fallen to sleep; with a frustrated growl she turned to Blood Moon, who opened his fore-legs and caught her in a relaxing hug.

"Make it go away, I don't like obsessing over anything to do with Pinkie Pie, it's not worth it" she muttered as she snuggled into him, getting comfy.

"What do you want me to do?" She shrugged.

"I don't know, distract me" she suggested. He couldn't help but grin.

"How?"

"Use your imagination" she said playfully. The assassin thought about it before he got an idea. He got up and trotted silently over to Fluttershy, Scootaloo and Rainbowdash's bed. He tapped on the yellow mare's shoulder and spoke into her ear.

"Fluttershy" he whispered, his quiet voice managing to awake her. She blinked awake and saw him, she quickly moved forwards and clamped her lips on his.

"That's a nice way to wake up" she murmured. The assassin grinned, though in the darkness, it was lost on her.

"I'll say" he muttered "anyway, Twilight's thoughts are a little…occupied with Pinkie's Pinkie-sense." Fluttershy giggled.

"That sounds like Twilight" she said, before she frowned "why did you wake me up to tell me that?"

"I need your help relaxing her" he said. Fluttershy giggled again, this one accompanied by a small blush. Alright, I'll give you a hoof relaxing her.

"Thanks." They trotted over to Twilight's bed, the stallion quieter than the mare. The purple mare noticed their approach and leaned up slightly.

"Where'd you go? I thought-" she was cut off when she felt somepony climb into bed behind her. "Blood Moon? Who is that?"

"Hey Twilight" she cooed from behind as she put her hoof over her body and pulled her into her as Blood Moon lay in front of her and snuggled into her. Twilight, the daffodil in a pony sandwich, suddenly found her mind occupied with the mare on her back, who seemed not to care about her flank pressing against her, and the stallion on her front, who was now pressed holding both her and Fluttershy in his hooves.

"So, distracted yet" he asked, a grin in his voice. Fluttershy giggled.

"I should hope so" she said, kissing her neck lightly. Twilight was still taken a little off guard but soon got comfy with it.

"Oh yeah" she replied, snuggling into the two of them, wiggling her flank into Fluttershy and pulling Blood Moon into her. "I'm pretty occupied now" she finished.

The three of them fell asleep with grins on their faces, feeling more in love than ever.


End file.
